I need your assistance
by puppy-on-crack
Summary: Loki Is brought to Tony, injured and abused, by Heimdall. Asked to take care of him, Tony accepts. After all, he has nothing to do now that Pepper left him. What are you supposed to do with an injured Norse god? Make him your assistant of course! eventual Tony/Loki. A tiny bit of Clint captain America bashing. Smut near the end.
1. Chapter 1

Hey everybody. This is my FIRST avengers story. I plan to make it a long multichapter fic. I just finished my last one but hopefully I will be able to keep this one more up to date than my last one. However I ask you not to judge me because I have never written in this fandom. Not to mention that I don't have a Beta so the chances for mistakes is quite high. After all, inconsistency is my middle name. Well it's actually poppins but don't ask cuz I won't tell.

Disclaimer: I own many things but the avengers is not one of them. And I am most certainly not making any money off of this.

!

Tony Stark was in his mess of a lab lamenting over a half finished version of a new blaster. Then man was surrounded by empty take-away boxes and a multitude of equipment no normal person would know what to do with. Tony had been down here for a little over a week with only quick trips to the bathroom. He even slept on the work table, the few times he actually fell asleep.

Normally three days ago he would have been dragged out, showered and fed by an angry Pepper but that wasn't going to happen now. The woman, for that's all tony would call her now, left him seven weeks ago. She had once promised him that she would love him forever despite all his flaws. That turned out to be a lie because she handed in her resignation along with breaking up with him claiming she could not deal anymore with his problems.

So Tony stayed in his lab alone. No more did he have an assistant or CEO. He didn't really care about the CEO position thing, the board of trustees would place one in and JARVIS would judge whether or not they were good for the company. But Tony missed the company. He quickly realized that he had no friends to speak of, including the Avengers. Well that excludes Bruce but the man refused his constant invitation to fly him back from India so they could catch up.

Tony spent a lot of time thinking of what had happened in the war. After a lot of thinking he realized that he really didn't hate Loki for what he had done. After all he knew his brother and he knew what it was like to have a father that didn't care for you as a son. Tony thought back to all the times where he thought of trying to take over the world. He knew he could do it and Ton admitted to himself that if he had a race of aliens behind him he probably would've tried the same.

He also realized that Loki was not even. He analyzed every piece of footage they had of Loki in those battles. He noticed that Loki never tried to run away when he could. He saw how the demigod would pull his punches on everything that wasn't the group of super heroes. He also found a rare video that showed him protecting a group of people from the aliens.

SO in his dungeon of a lab Tony sat alone and decided that he did not hate Loki. He decided that if the man ever came back he would try to talk to him instead of blasting him again. It was actually this thought he was having when there was a bright flash of light in the corner of his lab.

"What the hell?! Jarvis, lock down!" Tony shouted, picking up his personal blaster and approaching. He saw two figures, one standing proud while the other was slumped as if they were dead. "Who are you? Why are you here?" Tony shouted as the dust settled.

"Anthony Stark." A voice grumbled. Out of the shadow the tall standing man walked out and Tony immediately noticed the Asgardian armor.

"Yes?" Tony answered hesitantly.

"I am Heimdall. I have come to ask you for your assistance." The man, Heimdall, spoke in a deep voice. Tony heaved a deep sigh. He was quite tired of people asking for his "assistance".

"What do you want?" Tony asked, slightly lowering the blaster.

"I wish to ask for your assistance with him." Heimdall said, stepping aside to show an unconscious, severely beaten Loki. Tony immediately dropped his weapon and went over to the prostrate body. He placed his hand on the war criminals neck, sighing slightly as he felt a pulse. Without a word or a thought he lifted the limp body and carried him upstairs. He lead Heimdall to a spare bedroom and laid Loki onto the sheets, not caring that it was going to stain the sheets with blood.

"What happened?" Tony asked. Heimdall started a little but smiled.

"Yes I knew you were the right choice."

"What do you mean, right choice?" Tony questioned.

"You are the only person in the universe that would not look at this boy and leave him to die." Heimdall explained. "I needed to find someone who would actually care for him as a person and you are the only one who could do such a thing." Tony scoffed at the man.

"Well you obviously have bad judgment. Ask anyone, I don't care for anything but myself." Tony sneered.

"And yet, without thought you gave a man who tried to kill you a bed. Even your Captain of America would not have done that." Heimdall explained lightly. Tony froze for a moment when he thought about it. Surely Steve wouldn't have hurt him, but he would have not given him any comfort. "Anthony Stark, you are the only creature that has spoken a nice word about Loki since the disaster. That is why I brought him to you for help."

"Spoken?"

"Who speak aloud when you are alone. I can see everything. I saw you forgive him for what he has done."

"So what happened here?" Tony gestured at the broken body. There was a lot of blood and grime covering his body. A glanced showed him that there were no open wounds or bones that were currently broken. But there were many scars that were easily seen through the few threads of clothing that was left on him. His ribs stuck out dangerously, as if he hadn't eaten in the months since he left Earth.

"His father decided his punishment and it was carried out with too much glee and excitement. Loki was supposed to be locked in the dungeon for three human lifetimes with simple food and no comfort. Instead the guards beat him continuously. Instead of simple food he was given none. Before I brought him to you, he was nearly dead. I healed him as much as I could but I am not the sorcerer he is." Heimdall sighed and glanced over to the still unconscious body.

"So I guess that this vacation from the prison was not sanctioned by the king?" Tony snarked. "You want me to hide an escaped convict who is not only going to be hunted by the other Asgardians but will be sentenced to death if he is found here on Earth."

"If I had another choice I would not be here. As I said, other than myself you are the only other person in many worlds who has a kind disposition of thought towards him. Please help him." Tony thought about it for a moment. Well truth be told, he really didn't think about accepting. He knew in his mind that he would. People may claim him heartless but Tony was not. He was thinking about how this would work.

"I cannot protect him by myself from both worlds."

"No you cannot. I will protect him from Asgard by blocking his magic. Right now he is drained of his magic but it will come back. Slowly. Soon though he will be able to cast spells that will change his appearance enough to be safe. After that it would just be up to you to stop him from getting recognized." Heimdall spoke softly. "You do not need to do much. Just give him a place to stay until he is healed. As long as he is no longer in that prison."

"Fine." Tony said quietly. "I will help him."

"Thank you Anthony Stark." And with that the man was gone, leaving Tony alone with the unconscious demigod. Tony sighed as he realized what he had just gotten himself into. Harboring an intergalactic criminal who happens to have tried to kill him more than once.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes sir." The computer immediately responded.

"Run a diagnostic. I want to see all of his injuries and how bad they are. Also order me some smelling salts and food." Tony ordered.

"Of course sir. Would you like me to order from your usual fast food places or from the grocery store?" JARVIS said in a snooty tone. The computer had said on many occasions that Tony should eat better.

"Some of both. A lot of take away for when he wakes up but stock up the kitchen as well. I am going to get a drink tell me if anything changes with him or when the stuff has arrived." Tony said before walking out of the room, leaving Loki on the bed to rest comfortably.

After taking a few shots of good scotch Tony stayed down in his lab until the food and goods arrived. After storing the groceries and leaving the many pizzas, Tony had no idea what compelled JARVIS to order seven of them, on the counter he returned to the room. Loki had not moved yet on the bad.

"Jarvis. Your diagnostic."

"Of course sir. It seems that Mr. Loki's largest problem is extreme malnutrition. Other than that it seems all other injuries are well on their way to healing. There are fifty lacerations to account for. Twenty third degree burns. And finally there were seven different broken bones. However they have all been mostly healed."

"Thank you Jarvis." Tony sighed and reached for the smelling salts. He knew this was going to be bad but he held the salts under Loki's pointed nose. With a jolt the man awoke, grimacing when he felt pain.

In a second all the drowsiness left the demigod and with a startled expression he scrambled off the bed and into a corner. With fearful eyes he stared at Tony, his arms wrapped protectively around his legs.

"Where am I!?" He shouted, a manic fright coloring his voice.

"well good morning sleeping beauty." Tony mumbled under his voice. "You are safe Loki. You are at my house. In Malibu." He said loud enough for the other man to hear. That didn't stop the shivering from the petrified sorcerer.

"Why am I here? Am I being punished more?"

"What? NO! Listen Loki. Your friend Heimdall brought you here. He rescued you and brought you to me to keep you safe." Tony explained in a rush. Loki hugged himself tighter but he did seem to stop shaking.

"Why? Why would you help me?" He asked in a hushed voice, his dirty black hair covering his face.

"That is a question that I have been asking myself." There was a silence as they both took the statement in. It was many minutes before Loki uncurled himself and looked up, even if his gaze was still frightened. Tony sighed when he realized just how damaged this once proud person is now. A year ago Loki would have just sneered at him and maybe even spit on him for good measure. Instead he was cowering in the corner like a kicked puppy.

"Come on then." Tony motioned him to stand. Loki hesitated for a second but stood anyway.

"Where are we going?" He asked in a shy voice.

"To the bathroom. You look like you could use a bath. Maybe after a soak you will be able to calm down and we will talk about what has happened." Tony explained leading him out of the bedroom and into his own personal master bath. Tony had always been quite the lover of baths. So in his giant bathroom there was a tub that could easily fit five people. There were specialized jets and the entire tub was heated so the water never went cold. When they entered JARVIS automatically turned on the bath.

"I will be right down the hall if you need anything. Take all the time you need." Tony said quickly before leaving the bathroom. He flopped down on the giant couch in the living room.

"Sir?" The mechanized voice interrupted his thoughts on Loki.

"Yes Jarvis?"

"I hope you do not mind but I took the liberty of ordering clothes that would fit Mr. Loki and had them delivered right outside the bathroom. They will be here shortly. I also put on back order an entire wardrobe if it pleases you I can move up the order."

"That's perfect Jarvis. What would I do without you?"

"Perish."

!

My god the first chapter is actually done. Just so you know, I plan to write the first 5 chapters before I post. Then I'm going to post the first 3 chapters, and the other two will come the following weeks, giving me a chance to actually write consistently. But I make no promises that way I tell no lies.

Toodles and may the odds be ever in your favor.


	2. Chapter 2

Alright! Second chapter here we come. This one was a bit of a struggle but I did get it! One more chapter and I will officially start posting this shit! I'll probably do 2 chapters first day. 1 chapter the next and then I will start posting every week. I have no idea how long this story is going to be. I do have a time line but it is under constant reconstruction. Hopefully it will be over 10 chapters. Hopefully it won't go under hiatus like all my other stories….

Oh well, try and enjoy.

!

Loki sat in shock as he soaked in the giant tub of Tony Stark's bathroom. He tried to make sense of everything that had just happened as he watched the blood and grime slip off his skin and swirl in the water. The last thing he had known was the guards having there fun. They had locked him in his chains and were taking turns to see who could make him scream the loudest. He remembered passing out. Then he wakes up in the warm comfort of the house of his enemy. His enemy, who had yet to do anything cruel to him. Who offered him sanctuary and a bath and a bed.

Loki dipped his head below the water and scrubbed at his hair. There were no comforts of baths in those dungeons. When you started to smell the guards would throw a cold bucket of soapy water over your head and that was it. Even if this luxury was only a dream or a cruel joke, he was going to enjoy it while he could.

Loki spent over an hour in the tub, scrubbing his skin til it was pink and his hair was finally back to its shiny black. With a reluctant sigh he climbed out of the bath and grabbed a fluffy towel that was warm to the touch. He wrapped it around his waist and walked into the bedroom. After a glance around he could not find his clothes. Suddenly he jumped with a girly yelp as a voice spoke from the ceiling.

"Mr. Loki I have taken the liberty of throwing away your old clothes. As you can see there are clothes on the bed for you." The mechanical voice called.

"Who are you?" Loki demanded, even if it was more timidly than he would have preferred.

"I am Jarvis. Mr. Starks AI."

"Artificial Intelligence?" Loki said in wonder.

"That is correct sir." Loki shook his head. Even with his time on this planet he still did not understand Midgardian technology. But he knew what AI was. He glanced over to the clothes on the bed. There was a soft cotton shirt and a light gray sweat shirt that fit his upper torso perfectly. Then there was a pair of sweats that were not only comfortable, but warm.

"Sir, when you are done changing you can join Mr. Stark in the kitchen for dinner." The voice ripped him away from the appreciation of his clothing. Loki nodded and walked slowly to the kitchen, using the mechanical voice as his guide. When he entered the room he saw Stark at the table hunched over a tablet. The man was obviously freshly showered as his hair was still wet and he was wearing new clothes that weren't stained with grease and ketchup.

"Loki. You are here. Sit down." Tony said, pointing to a chair. Loki followed the order immediately, not wanting to anger the host of all these gifts. Not seconds after he sat a plate piled with three pieces of pizza was placed in front of him.

"Dude you are seriously skinny. There is nothing better than pizza to put on weight. And don't worry about eating too much, my stupid computer bought seven of them." Tony said in a light voice. It took less than a minute for Loki's self control to break and allow him to devour his food without manners. Tony smiled into his pizza as he watched the emaciated man chomp his way through three pizzas. He knew Asgardians ate a lot but Loki looked like he could out eat his brother, and that is saying something. Still he got a little rush of joy as he watched him eat. Tony had always loved giving gifts. Showering people with the things they want or need. Most people thought it was his way of showing off, which he will admit it kind of is, but the most joy he gets is when he can use his money to make those he likes happy.

It was a long while but both men finally stopped eating and that's when Tony decided that they needed to talk.

"Hey Loki." He started out nervously. The man looked up in a moment of panic at the tone of voice.

"Y-yes?"

"We have to talk about some of your living arrangements here." Tiny was slightly startled at the distraught look on the other man's face. "No! It's nothing bad I promise you."

"Alright." Loki mumbled.

"Well as you have probably figured out, people here still don't like you. So the main thing we are going to have to do is hide you until you get enough magic that you can change your appearance. That means that you are going to be confined to the house until that happens. After that then we can think of a cover that would allow you to stay by me when you can change your looks.

"Also when I have guests you have to stay in your room. There will be plenty of stuff to do in there so you won't get bored but we cannot chance you getting found. Especially by Shield or your brother." Tony watched as Loki flinched at the mention of his brother. Still the demigod nodded in agreement to the terms.

"Luckily my friends have pretty much abandoned me after Pepper left so the chances of anyone coming over to visit is going to be very rare. Other than that you have full access to the house . . . other than my labs because you might blow yourself up in there. Lord knows I have many times." Tony chuckled at his little joke. Loki smiled a little at that.

"There we go Reindeer Games! Finally cracked a smile. I'll have you know that I am very funny. I was insulted that that you hadn't smiled yet." Tony said flippantly, easily reverting to his usual flamboyant self.

"Now we have had a long day, so I say we go watch a movie on the big screen and turn off our brains for a little while." Loki held back a smart comment, not yet knowing how much he could get away with here. So he just nodded and followed Tony into the living room, curling up in a corner of the bed-like couch. Tony mused over a large selection of movies finally selecting an action movie with a lot of car chases and funny on-liners during the big fights. He flopped heavily on the couch.

An hour later both men were enthralled with a movie. A ridiculously large bowl of popcorn appeared between them along with a couple of two liters. Loki watched in amusement as Tony shouted at the television, admonishing the actors for nearly everything they did. It still surprised him that this man had accepted him so easily. Even before all his mistakes his own family was not comfortable around him and it took Stark less than five hours to let down all his guard and relax around him. He had quietly wondered why Heimdall would leave him here, of all places. Tony's easy acceptance showed why he did.

Tony knew that Loki was watching him. It was obvious that Loki was waiting for the other boot to drop. Waiting for Tony to get mad and strike at him or to throw him to the streets. Tony still didn't know why he didn't. Anyone else would. Though Tony Stark was not everyone else.

By the time the movie was over Loki had fallen asleep on the couch, the events of the day catching up with him finally. Tony picked him up and carried him to the bed. When he shut the door he was smiling. It felt good to be able to be around someone. After Peppers abandonment and the revelation about his lack of friends Tony had felt lonely. To be able to address another person, even though they remain quiet and rarely answered back, was exhilarating.

"Jarvis." Tony called.

"Yes sir?"

"I am going down to the labs for the night. If Loki wakes up or has a problem please call me."

"Of course sir."

Hours later Tony was still in his labs working on the blaster he never really finished.

"Holy shitting fuck!" Tony shouted as he burned his finger on the still hot metal of the welding tools. He cursed under his breath as he looked for the bottle of burn ointment he kept at his desk at all times. He moaned in relief as the gel took away the burn and he was able to wrap up his finger.

"Sir?"

"What Jarvis!"Tony bit out angrily.

"It seems Mr. Loki is having a nightmare. You asked me to tell you when something was happening to him." The AI spoke a little bitter sounding at Tony's tone of voice.

"Fine!" Tony said, running upstairs to the guest room he had given Loki. From outside the door he could hear the screaming. He cursed lightly before swinging the door wide open. One the bed Loki was tangled in his sheets tossing and turning while screaming bloody murder.

"No . . . Stop. . . Please, god STOP!" The poor man yelled, tears falling from the closed eyes.

"Loki!" Tony shouted, trying to wake the man up. IT didn't work so he ran over to the bed and placed his hands on Loki's shoulders, trying to get him to stop struggling.

"NO! DON'T! . . . Father . . . NO!" The sorcerer yelped and tried to struggle away.

"Loki please stop!" Tony pleaded. Still he thrashed and whimpered and cried. After five minutes of struggling Tony decided that this was not working. In a quick motion he turned the struggling man around and hugged him to his chest. He felt the long scarred back press against the machinery in his chest. He wrapped his legs around the flailing ones of the demigod. After a few long minutes the other man began to calm down.

The screams calmed to whimpers and the tears finally stopped. Tony sat in the bed holding the broken man. In the end all it did was make him mad. To think that a father would subject his child to something so horrific that he would have this reaction made him sick to his stomach. If he had any doubts about helping Loki, he certainly did not have them anymore.

Tony stayed until all movement from Loki stopped and he was quietly snoring. After Tony shuffled to his bed and laid down. He didn't know how to help Loki. Sure he had been through something similar. The cave and the terrorist were still large players in his nightmares. But Tony did not handle his mental strain well. Throwing himself into vigilantism and hero work. Destroying every relationship he could have. Often drinking himself into a coma so there was no possible way that he could have his nightmares.

Tony decided that he didn't want to think about it right now. In his mind he knew that he would eventually get the other man to talk. Share what had happened to him. He had only got a short version from Heimdall and based on the injury count a lot more had happened.

!

Whoo! Second chapter is DONE! Granted it is a little shorter than the last one. Perhaps it is because there is a lot less dialogue in this one. The next chapter should be interesting. But who knows. I never properly plan these things.


	3. Chapter 3

Here is the third chapter. This one was a bit of a struggle but I managed to make it through. I will be trying to write this story as regularly as I can, but there is an incredibly high chance that won't happen. Quite frankly, I have too much shit to do. Still, I will eventually finish it, even if it takes years (which it might) so no angry comments telling me to finish it! Now, to the story.

!

When Loki woke up he realized there was someone else in his bed. It unbalanced him. No one had been in his bed for many years now, not after the rumors of his mischief spread throughout the realms. Loki felt the cool press of metal against his back and that only confused him more. As he turned over he groaned in pain. It was not the sharp agonizing pain that he had felt before, now it was dull and throbbing. When he finally made it all the way around he stared at the bearded face that had been pressed against this back and sighed in happiness. It was not a dream then. He had really been saved by the Man of Iron.

"I know I'm beautiful but there is no need to stare." Came a low grumble and Loki looked to see Tony eyes open, staring right back at him.

"Sorry." Loki mumbled. Tony stretched like a cat, elongating his shorter body until it took up most of the bed.

"No need to be. I'm actually content. This is the first time I've been able to wake up next to a man and not end up in some sort of screaming match." Tony flashed a winning smile and relaxed against the pillows again.

"You have slept with other men?" Loki asked with a raised eyebrow.

"On occasion. I stopped for a while because every morning ended with a sexual identity crisis from my partner or The Woman yelling at me for being reckless." Loki hummed at the statement.

"I thought humans were against men having relations with each other. All the other times I have been here it has been a taboo worthy of death."

"Times change Reindeer Games. Its still a taboo in many people's eyes. Though the law has changed it so that it is no longer illegal and many people accept it now." Tony grunted as he stood up from the bed. "Alright, time for breakfast. We need to put some meat on your bones." Tony yanked Loki out of bed, softly as to not disturb his injuries. He pulled him along to the kitchen. Both, it seemed, had decided not to talk about why they had ended up in bed together. Tony was not eager to mention the nightmares and Loki did not want to risk it never happening again. Sure he was not sexually involved with the Man of Iron, but it had been so long that someone was willing to make casual contact with him that if Stark was going to crawl into bed with him he would not say no.

"Let's go get something to eat. Then we can discuss a few things. I had a vision in my dream!" Tony shouted joyously before bolting out of the bed. Loki sat stunned for a moment. Sometimes Stark had as much infernal energy as his brother. He clambered slowly out of bed and followed JARVIS's directions to the kitchen.

On the black marble of the enormous counter there was a feast of fruits, French baguettes (that were shipped this morning from France), thin slices of meat and large bowls of yogurt. Tony was perched on a chair on the opposite of the table and motioned for Loki to sit on the other side.

"I know your brother loves all the fattening and sugary crap America has to offer. However, I have been informed by JARVIS that you probably do not."

"Thank you." Loki said, slipping into his chair with his head bowed. Tony waved it away impatiently before reaching for a platter of meats

"No need. JARVIS has been trying to make me eat like this for years. Since The Woman is gone I should try and start taking care of myself. Not that I won't indulge when I want to, after all, I am Tony Stark." Tony popped a piece of salami in his mouth as he watch Loki cautiously reach for a plate and begin loading it with food. He smiled when there was less hesitation grabbing than when he was going for the pizza.

"The woman?" Loki asked. He said so shyly, making Tony a bit angry. It seemed that Loki was not yet comfortable around him. Still, it had only been a day and a half since he woke. It would probably take a while before the snark came back.

"Yeah. I forgot you didn't know about her. Most of the world knows about her. She was my personal assistant for years, the CEO of my company as well and she was my lover for about as long. We had been dating on and off for about five years. We had a lot of arguments and she was always trying to change me. Still, I loved her and did the best I could. Not long after we sent you back she decided that she didn't love me anymore. That she could do better than a 'narcissistic alcoholic ass'." Tony crinkled his nose in disgust. He looked at Loki when the god snorted.

"The fool." Tony smiled as a flash of the arrogant megalomaniac came back.

"Hmm? You think so?" Tony hummed, laying his chin on laced fingers.

"Any person would be foolish to think they could do better than you, lest they were looking for a god." Loki sneered.

"Most people would disagree with you. In fact the whole world roared in approval when she announced that she was resigning." There was a little bitterness in his tone, though Tony had no idea why he even tried to hide it.

"Then they are wrong too. Putting aside the fact that you could provide a person everything they want twenty times over and will likely sire intelligent, successful offspring; you have good qualities of a provider. You have a fierce loyalty to those who you care about, even the smallest amount. You are unshakeable in your morals, even if they do not fully align with the standards of the world. You have a deep desire to make people happy, even if it means distracting them from their pain by making a fool of yourself. Finally you are willing to change to make those around you happy. All those are qualities you wouldn't even find in the best of the gods." Loki finished with his tone superior, begging Tony to challenge what he said.

"Wow…. Just . . . wow." Tony was stunned. He was no fool and knew that most of what Loki had said, he himself had already realized. How was it that a being from a different realm (Tony refused to acknowledge him as a god. He was an alien) was able to see these things from a few choice encounters while The Woman and everyone else had never realized?

"You are surprised I know?" Loki asked a little shrewdly.

"Well when your brother came to earth he didn't know how to use a toaster." Tony said as if it were the answer to the question.

"I am not as simple as Thor." Loki sneered again.

"No I think Thor's simple-ness is one of his godly powers." Tony quipped, causing Loki to smirk.

"When I came to this realm I immediately began gathering information. I used the hawk to find out what forces would be used against me and their weaknesses. Of course he immediately told me about the Avenger plan. Told me that even though it had been discarded that his boss would try anything to revive it." Loki folded his fingers and placed them under his chin. "So many interesting people with wonderful powers and yet the most interesting one of them happened to be the one named Stark."

"Thank you!"

"That wasn't necessarily a compliment."Loki popped a grape in his mouth. Tony realized that he had been so engrossed with talking that he forgot to eat. "Out of all the men the hawk mentioned there was not one word of good about you. Even your accomplishments came with disdain from the man. Interested I looked around and saw that this notion was almost universal in the world of the powerful. Yet, to the common man, you were regarded as a benevolent god. Interesting. So you were the only one that I desired to meet. When I saw you I knew you would be the one that was a challenge. The wild card. Indeed you were, to think that you would fly in a worm hole at risk of your own life. Not a very narcissistic thing."

Tony smiled. It seemed like he was doing that a lot around Loki. Then again, it has been the first time he talked to anybody that wasn't JARVIS in about a month. Not knowing what to say, Tony nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"If you're done follow me to the bathroom so I can explain my epiphany to you." Tony said with a laugh before sprinting off to the bathroom. Loki followed at a more leisurely pace, glancing around as he went. He marveled at the house. The only it could look more sophisticated would be if it had been done in all gold, like on Asgard. Which Loki knew Stark could probably do.

In the bathroom Tony stood behind a chair. On the counter was an array of oddly shaped bottles and scissors. Slowly Loki made his way to the chair, settling into it softly. He flinched when a towel was suddenly wrapped around his neck.

"Darling what a mess! We absolutely must do something with that hair!" Tony lisped in his 'gay hairdresser' voice. Loki looked confused. "Sorry, I forgot that you wont get all my jokes. Im going to do your hair. SHEILD hasn't been here for nearly three months, meaning within the next few weeks they are going to come barging in here." Tony explained, reaching for the scissors.

"So, I thought that we needed an excuse for you living in my house. Since The Woman has left I have been in the market for a new assistant. My new assistant will be you." Tony explained, grabbing a spray bottle, checked the label (just in case), and began to wet down Loki's hair. "First though, we need to make you unrecognizable. So I'm going to cut and dye your hair. When you get your magic back you will be able to change it back but for now this will have to do. I also got you colored contacts so that we can change those pretty eyes of yours."

"Assistant?" Loki asked. The hair and eyes thing made sense, even if he was worried letting Stark do the cutting. The assistant thing worried him though. From his knowledge that meant a lot of contact with the outside world and that would be a struggle.

"Well a different type of assistant from normal. Which having the abnormal is normal for me, so people won't question me. Your "job" will be to make sure I stay healthy and arrive place. Mostly making sure I eat, sleep, bathe and show up. Or at least that is what we will tell people. You don't have to do that if you don't want to." Tony explained as he began cutting. Long tendrils of black hair fell to the floor. Tony spent last night studying how to cut hair, of which he was now an expert. He had even gotten Jarvis to get some fake heads to practice on.

The rest of the makeover they discussed the disguise. They agreed on the name Luke, because it was close to Loki and easier for Tony to remember. As they talked about a back story the hair kept getting shorter and shorter. Soon the scraps were brushed away by dummy (with a lot of cursing from Tony as he got hit with the broom a couple of times) and the dye had been applied.

Tony, always having to be dramatic, did not let Loki see his hair until after his hair had been dried, styled and the contacts were in place. With a flourish the chair was spun around with a 'Ta-da' from Stark. He was blonde. Well not completely. His hair was so light it may as well been white, but there were green at the tips of his hair. The style had been cut short with large bangs and many layers, making it stick up as though it had been ruffled by a hundred pair of hands. His eyes were a light blue and looked incredibly large. Over all Loki didn't _dislike_ the look, but it was quite different from his dark looks.

"Isnt this a bit unprofessional for an assistant?" Loki asked, running his fingers through his bangs. He examined his green tips. Looking up he saw Tony smiling in the mirror.

"Well I figured that people would be talking about that more than they would how much you resemble the megalomaniac that tied to exterminate the world. Do you like it?" Tony acked excitedly.

"Yeah . . . I like it."

!

The next chapter has the rest of the Avengers and hopefully will be a little funnier. Like I said, no guarantees.

Screw constructive criticism, only comment if it is a compliment.


	4. Chapter 4

Here is chapter 4! Wow I'm on a role. I'm surprised with myself. Really, I am. It's rare for me to get this far and not be bored with the story. Hopefully that means I can do this without taking a yearlong break in between the chapters. I just finished writing a chapter from a story I've been ignoring for close to 2 years. People were yelling at me (through the comments)! Anyway, here it is, the next chapter.

!

Three weeks later found Loki showering and thinking of Stark. Not in a perverted way, but the thought had crossed his mind. Loki was surprised how comfortable he had become around the man. For the last three weeks the man has been plastered to his side (once quite literally when an experiment had failed and glued to together for two days). They watched thousands of movies, or so it seemed. Tony was instructing him in all parts of human society. Politics, current events, gossip, world government and history.

When Stark wasn't teaching him that they both sat in the lab. Tony would work on whatever project he had decided to do while Loki would read. Stark mumbled as he worked, talking to himself and JARVIS as if Loki wasn't there. It was comforting. Even though it had been a while Loki was still trying to get over his fear of being alone. He hated the feeling that he might go back to that cell, but with Tony there was no fear of that.

Stark ended up in his bed fairly often. It didn't take much for Loki to realize that it was because of the nightmares. Neither commented on it though. Loki still relished in the comfort and for once in his life Tony was sleeping semi-regularly. In fact, since Loki came he apparently has been eating and behaving better than he had since he was a teenager. Either way, they had both been very comfortable around each other.

Loki put in his contacts while he hummed; he was wearing them constantly to practice. He was happy that he could act himself even though he didn't look himself. He strolled out of his room wearing only a towel. Stark told him to be comfortable in his house and Loki promptly told him that he preferred to be nude.

"Oh it must be my lucky day." Stark had quipped with a salacious smile. He would jokingly check him out every time he walked around with less than normal clothing. It was because he was so comfortable, he supposed, that he just walked into a kitchen full of Avengers in just a towel.

There was a stunned silence as the Avengers stared at the half-nude man strolling through the kitchen. In less than a second Natasha had out her gun, Clint was pointing arrows at him and Fury had a gun of his own.

"Oh… OH!" Loki gasped in surprise. He lifted up his hands in surrender. There were no calls of 'Loki!' so he assumed the disguise worked. "Just… just hold on. JARVIS!" He yelled at the ceiling, not moving and trying to ignore armed and staring people.

"Yes sir?"

"Can you tell Tony to get his ass up here?"

"Sure." JARVIS answered quickly.

"What do you want sweet heart?" Tony's voice rattled from the ceiling. Loki glared at the ceiling. Stark had a thing for pet-names and no amount of slaps to the head would stop him.

"Well _dear._ You have guests and you failed to mention it to me, so I am standing in front of them in a towel. I can't go and change because they are all pointing their weapons at me." Loki turned and glared at the stunned superheroes. It was less than thirty seconds before Tony stepped out of the elevator and took in the scene in the kitchen.

"You were telling the truth." He looked a little stunned. The Avengers looked over at him in surprise. "Guys can you not point your guns at my new assistant? He is the first person who hasn't run away screaming and I don't think I would find another like him." He made a calming motion. The Avengers, well the ones from SHEILD, put down their weapons.

"Who is this Stark?" Fury growled, glaring with one eye. Loki responded with a quirked eyebrow.

"This is Luke. My new assistant. Listen, before we get into this can you let him change?" Tony asked. Loki spun on his heels and quickly walked away. As he turned the corner he let out the breath he had been holding in.

"What the hell was that Stark?" Fury yelled. Tony looked around out his kitchen. Bruce was sitting in a chair with a coffee looking amused. Natasha was watching the hallway suspiciously. Clint was glaring at Tony. Steve looked too stunned to move.

"That would be my new assistant, as I just said. After The Woman left I decided that I need a new assistant. He is in charge of making sure that I eat, sleep and in-general stay healthy. It's a tough job, and a full time one. So he is living in the mansion with me." Tony shrugged before grabbing at a bottle of scotch. He got the feeling that he was going to need it, even if it was ten in the morning.

"Pepper left?!" Steve yelped. They all turned to him as he blushed. Tony smirked and laughed.

"Dude I know you were frozen but you need to read a newspaper. It's been in the news for two months. Yes, she left."

"Why?"

"Because she didn't want to deal with me." Tony answered shortly, before taking a long sip from his glass. Steve looked disapproving but Tony couldn't tell if it was because of the booze or the thing with The Woman. Tony realized that he didn't care.

"That doesn't explain why he was naked in your house." Natasha piped up, taking a seat near Bruce.

"He wasn't naked." Tony pointed out.

"Stark." Fury growled in a warning.

"Because I told him that as long as he lives in this house he can do as he wishes. If he wants to be semi nude, who am I to say no?" Tony gave a winning smile but Bruce was the only one to smile back. "Bruce-y nice to see you! How was India?"

Just then Loki walked in. There was a silence as they all took him in. He stood tall in his tailored suit (compliments of Tony's personal tailor). Despite the punk hair cut he looked very professional. As he strode into the room Natasha stared (Tony did so as well, much more blatantly). Loki went over to Tony and pulled the glass of alcohol out of his hands without much force. They all stared as he poured it down the sink. He strutted over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of tomato juice, pours a glass and pushed it into Tony's hands.

"Thanks." Tony said with a scrunched nose.

"We had a deal. No booze until five o'clock and you get more than three hours in the lab." Loki pointed out. It's true that they made that deal. Loki decided that Stark did indeed need a paid babysitter. So he took it upon himself to change a few things.

"Can we include a 'director Fury' clause?"

"No."

"I like him." Bruce piped up, breaking into the beginning bicker fight. Both looked at him, Tony smiling and Loki in interest.

"Thank you, Mr. Banner." Loki said quietly.

"Oh, you know me?"

"Yes. Tony has spoken a lot about you . . . about all of you."

"So you are not sleeping with Stark?" Clint asked bluntly the question that had been on everybody's mind. Loki smirked.

"No. I told him he had to take me on three dates before that could happen." He turned and winked saucily at Tony. Then he laughed and the rest had realized it was a joke.

"Excuse me." Fury interrupted. They all turned to him. "We did not come here to discuss Starks sex life."

"Yeah, if you want to know that just watch Entertainment Tonight!" Tony interrupted.

"Stark. The reason we are here is because the other Avengers will be living with you."

"Oh really? And why not at the New York mansion?" Tony growled as an apple was pushed into his hand by Loki but he took a bite of it anyway.

"Because it is under construction. Not only that, but there is no point in team building exercises if you are not there. Since you would not come to New York, I brought them here." With that he swirled around dramatically and left.

"Hey-!" Tony shouted at him, ready to reject.

"And here I thought Tony was flashy. I've never seen a more dramatic exit in my life, and I have seen quite a few plays." Loki plucked a grape from the bowl on the counter and slipped it between his lips. The other stared at him, unable to articulate anything.

"Yes, well Fury is one for flare. You should see him when he is trying to storm out angrily." Tony nudged him with his elbow.

"Tony." Captain America said in warning. He was extremely uncomfortable with this situation. He did not have anything against homosexuals but he didn't know how to deal with Tony, a man he associate extreme heterosexuality, seemingly flirt with his assistant. He watched as Tony's hand slid jokingly along his assistants waist. Loki didn't move, loving the look on Captain Americas face. He wasn't the God of Mischief for nothing.

"I get it. Hands to myself." Tony smirked and held up his hands as if to say 'I wasn't doing what you were thinking'.

Loki rose and moved to walk out of the room. Tony perked up and watched him as he left. Before he went through the doorway he called out to him.

"Where are you going?"

"Why?"

"I can't bear to be away from you more than a second?" Loki chuckled at the pitiful way Tony had said it.

"Though that may be true, I'm sure you can live without me for a little while. I'm going to finish some of the paper work that you have been ignoring. Then I am going to be doing a bit of reading." After he left there was another silence. Clint was glaring after him in jealousy when he noticed Natasha staring at him far longer than he liked, which was more than half a second.

"He is an interesting one." Natasha said, sipping at the coffee that somehow appeared in front of her.

"That he is. Keep your hands off though, he's mine." Tony smirked. Natasha shrugged as if to say 'well, what can you do?'. "Anyway, you are all going to have to play nice with him. He is going to be living here for quite a while. Bruce, lets escape to the lab before he notices." Tony grabbed Bruce by the wrist and pulled him into the elevator with a manic smiled that worried the three left in the kitchen.

!

So it's a tiny bit shorter than the last one. I'm just happy that I finished it. At this rate I may have the whole story finished before I'm done posting all the chapters. That would be just wonderful *dreamy look*.


	5. Chapter 5

I'm so happy. I'm getting a ridiculous amount of reviews on this story. This has never happened to me! I don't know if people will like it as it moves on. Lots of things are going to happen. Loki gets revealed to the world, Thor comes to warn them Loki is gone, he gets some magic back, they embarrass the avengers. That sort of stuff. The last chapter was a huge jump and may be where I lose people. I was too lazy to write all that in between stuff.

I don't have a Beta and no plan to get one. There will be spelling mistakes. Just ignore them.

!

Natasha woke up before the sun the next morning. She always did that. Unless she was critically injured she never slept in past eight. So when she wandered into the kitchen that morning she expected to be alone. The world lived to surprise her.

Luke was standing in front of the stove, humming a nameless song and cooking what looked to be an enormous batch of eggs and bacon. After looking she noticed that he was wearing a headset connected to an IPod, which was clipped onto a pair of briefs. The briefs being the only thing that he was wearing. As much as she hated to admit to herself, this Luke was attractive. Natasha coughed lightly to get his attention.

"Ah! Miss Romanov. You are down here early." He said, taking the ear buds out and draping them around his neck. Natasha smiled and sat down at the counter.

"I could be saying the same thing. Normally I am the only one up at this hour. You must wake up very early." She smiled in thanks as a mug of coffee was placed in front of her.

"More like stay up very late. Very much like Mr. Stark, I find it difficult to sleep at the normal hours." Loki smirked. He didn't mention to her that he hated the nightmares so much he would rather stay up. He returned to the food. He dished up some of the eggs and bacon and placed it in front of Natasha.

There was a choked sound from the door way and they both turned to see and incredibly red Steve. There was a soft chuckle from Loki. He smiled coyly, causing Steve to blush even more.

"Good morning Captain. Would you like some food?"Loki clicked his heels together and saluted the man. He smirked when Steve just nodded and quickly ducked into a seat. There was an awkward silence as Captain America determinedly refused to make eye contact with anything but his plate. Loki was loving this. It was the most fun he has had in years. There was nothing quite like embarrassing someone. It took ten minutes for the stillness to be broken.

"Jeezus man!" Clint yelped from the doorway. "Put on some clothes!"

"Now what would be the fun of that?" Loki snarked.

"We don't want to see everything you have." Clint barked. Loki shrugged.

"Lady Widow doesn't seem to mind, do you?" He smirked at her playfully. She chuckled softly.

"Of course not. I happen to enjoy the view." She licked her lips playfully. Loki decided that he liked her. He was scared of her, yes, but she could play along with a joke.

"Natasha!" Clint yelled indignantly. Natasha glared at him before he could say anything else. He hung his head and accepted a plate of food before sitting down. He glared at Luke every chance he got.

"Oh come now. Don't be that way. You have nothing to worry about. Miss Romanov is not my type. You have no competition from me." Loki said lightly, trying to lighten the mood. That caused everyone to perk up.

"So you are gay." Clint decided through a mouthful of eggs.

"No." Loki hummed. "I'll take anything that comes my way, as long as it excites me."

"And I don't excite you?" Natasha questions with a little smile over her mug. Loki pointed his spatula at her.

"You, my dear, scare me. Though I like a little fear in my romance, not the type that makes me wonder if I will be alive in the morning."

"And what kind of fear do you look for?" Tony swaggered into the room with an exhausted Bruce following him. Loki smiled as he saw the man and hurried to get them both food.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out." He said with a wink. Both men tucked in, Bruce after he said a little thank you. Tony moaned around his food.

"What do I need to do to get you to cook for me every meal?"

"How much of a raise are you willing to give me?" Loki immediately replied. Tony snorted and waved his fork around.

"After all I've done for you. . ." He trailed off. Everyone noticed that he got distracted staring at Luke's ass. "Are those the briefs I bought you?"

"They might be."

"Turn around and show me the front." Tony demanded. Loki chuckled and turned and stepped out from behind the counter. The briefs were red and skin tight. The main focus, though, was the iron man arc reactor placed right over the front of the crotch. It even had tiny little lights so it glowed and pulled the eye toward it. Steve blushed even harder, making everyone wonder if he was going to pass out.

"A little flashy for my taste, but they are far too comfortable to give up." Loki mused, placing his hands on his hips and staring down at them. As he stood there everyone's eyes were on him and they slowly traveled up from his hips to his chest where lingering eyes stared at the scars that littered his chest. Tony tried to focus on his plate, ignoring the anger that bubbled in him. It's worse knowing exactly where those scars came from.

"Not to be rude . . . but where did you get those scars?" Trust Clint to take up the gauntlet of being blunt. Natasha kicked him in the shin, gaining a yelp for her troubles, but it was too late. The question hung in the air. The tense silence only broke when a heavy thud startled them all. Bruce had fallen face first into his food and based on the snores emitting from the plate, he wasn't waking up any time soon.

"Everyone has a past, Mr. Barton. Mine just happens to be one that wasn't pleasant." He answered eventually with a smile. But it was forced and very sad. Everyone glared at Clint. Sure they all had scars and pasts they'd rather not talk about. That doesn't give them free reign to ask anything they want.

"Well. . . On that note I'm going down to the lab before we start bringing out tissues and talking about our daddies." Tony stood with his normal flourish, grabbing a bottle on the way out. Loki sighed and placed all the dishes in the sinks.

"I'm going to join him. Make sure that he doesn't blow himself up. "He mumbled before bolting from the kitchen. He grabbed clothes and wandered down to the lab. Tony was already at his normal table, futzing with a gun. Loki fell into a seat with a huff. He looked at the bottle that had been taken by Tony, nothing had been drunk from it. Weird.

"How are you holding up?" Tony mumbled, not looking up from his toy.

"Fine. It's acting. Pretending to be someone that I am not. I am in my element. The most fun that I have had in centuries . . . but . . ." Loki trailed off, staring at the ceiling.

"But?" Tony prodded both his gun and the conversation.

"But every time I speak as Luke I remember that it is because of that talent I am here. My father and my world hated me for my ability to trick. I wanted to play tricks and make jokes. Because of that I was punished."

"And it lead you to here. Having your mind controlled and then being punished for that. I understand."

"Do you? Does anybody?" Loki mumbled the last part. Neither man looked at each other in the silence.

"I probably get you more than anyone here. A father who had more power than he should. A golden boy whose shadow was never ending. A world that seemed to dislike every move that was made. Betrayals. Punishments." Tony unconsciously reached for the arc reactor. Loki finally looked at him as saw the coldness in his eyes that he had only seen in a mirror. "So the idea that you fell into the hands of a manipulative sadist and allowed your mind to be warped by a magical building block. Yes. I can understand that."

"You knew that the tesseract had taken my mind?"

"I happen to know that under those pretty blue contacts your eyes are green. So when I look back and remember blue eyes in Germany, yes I now know that your mind had been taken." Tony still hadn't looked up. He had stopped working though. He didn't move until he heard a hum of approval from the other man.

This time the silence was longer. Much longer. They didn't talk for two hours. Tony had moved on to working on a boot of one of his suits. Loki was playing a game of chess with Dummy. Loki coughed lightly and turned to address Tony. He had just won his game, causing Dummy to spray the board with the fire extinguisher. He was a sore loser.

"Are you not friends with the Avengers?" Loki asked when the rattling of machines lessened.

"Not exactly." Tony said, lifting his goggles off and removing gloves. "To date I have had a total of seven true friends. Four of them are now dead. First was Sherry. She was the first person who ever wanted to be friends with me. She died at fourteen from cancer. Charles was a mate from college. Car Crash. Andrea committed suicide but she was the first person I eve fell in love with. Yinsen was killed by terrorist but if it weren't for him I would be dead.

"Of the living I have Rhodey, but he has many responsibilities with the government and is never around. I am good friends with a man Ralph, he is basically the entirety of the Swedish government. Finally I have Bruce. Except he is always running away from his problems. So no. The Avengers aren't my friends."

"Well it seems like you have more friends than I ever had. I topped out at two." Loki mused, fingers laced behind his head. "Both are dead now. First was my wife. Though that is a story for another day and far more drink. The next was a mage that lived in another realm. As a child I had accidentally spelled myself onto another planet, into his room. He is that one who taught me a majority of my magic because the sorcerers on Asgard wouldn't teach me."

"Of course." Tony reached under his desk and rustled around for something. He pulled out a clear, unopened bottle. Loki raised his eyebrow in question but said nothing. The man stood and grabbed the half finished bottle of scotch that was on top of the table.

"Since its already past noon and we have already broken the boundary of talking about friendlessness and death, I think we should start drinking. I say we go up stairs and watch a Disney movie and get so smashed we start yelling at the characters. . . . Just not Bambi. We are trying to avoid tears."

Loki smiled and followed him. The rest of the day (and night) they simultaneously annoyed and scared the other avengers with shouts of "HE DOESN'T REALLY LOVE YOU!" and "NOO BAMBI'S MOM CAN'T DIE!". The conversation ignored but not forgotten by either of them.

!

This chapter was a bit longer than I expected it to be…yay! Anyway. If you haven't noticed the pattern yet I'll be posting every Sunday. Though I may be tempted to add chapters early (I have no self control). Hopefully this chapter was humorous. If not, tell me. I tend not to hit my mark most of the time.


	6. Chapter 6

I'm so amazing. I can't believe that I got this far into this story. Also, I have managed to get more review on this story that any other story of mine. Including my "50 things I can't do in Hogwarts" story! (Which, by the way, is very funny. Look it up if you want a laugh). Despite all that, thank you for everyone who had reviewed. I will do my best to continue to be this good. Truth be told, I don't really have much of a plan for this story. So over the summer there may be some dry patches.

!

When Loki woke up the next morning there were three things he could not explain. First, he was not sleeping on a bed but on the floor under a coffee table. Next, Tony was hugging his shins like a teddy bear and did not seem likely to move. Finally, he felt weird.

After a minute he could explain the first two. The booze. After a night of heavy drinking a drunken Tony suggested a fort, which a drunken Loki agreed would be great. Under the table they passed out before they could hang up the first blanket. It also explained why Tony was hugging his legs. The man became quite the cuddler every night he had climbed into bed with Loki after a nightmare.

The funny feeling though, when he figured that one out there was an audible gasp in the room. His magic had come back. Not a lot. Definitely not a lot. He probably couldn't make a light bulb light up. Still, it was coming back. The familiar tingle under his skin warmed his heart. That meant his injuries were completely healed, or at least to the point that his natural body processes could take over. Musing, Loki figured that within the next week he would be able to barrier himself instead of Heimdall. Then there was no limit to what he could do.

A chuckle from his right broke him from his thoughts. The Avengers, everyone except Clint, were standing at the door way with amused smiles. Steve looked like he was going to begin a lecture, judging by his pierced lips.

"Have a fun night last night?" Bruce asked. Loki smiled and nodded, moving to gently tap Tony on his head to wake him up. There was disgruntled mumbles and Tony just squeezed his legs tighter. Loki switched to pressing his finger harshly against his cheek.

"You're not going to be able to wake him up that way Luke. He is impossible to wake up with a hangover." Natasha supplied. "Though I'm surprised you are not in the same state with the way that you drank last night."

"I have a very high tolerance for alcohol. And I have never had a hangover." Loki smirked, knowing that his magic prevents hang overs. Still, the alcohol on Asgard was much stronger so drinking vast amounts of Midgard booze meant nothing to him. There was a loud groan as Tony began to stir. He gripped Loki's legs harder and nuzzled his nose into them.

"I don't wanna go to school mommy. I already know multiplication.' He mumbled into the shins. There was a loud snort from the group at the door which startled him awake, resulting in his head smacking the table.

"Brucey! Couldn't you have waited until I was out from under the table?" He looked up at Loki, who was smirking at him. "Good morning dear?"

"Good enough. I know I may act like you mother, but I would appreciate not being called 'mom' anymore."

"Sirs. I'm sorry to interrupt but Mr. Stark has an appointment." JARVIS stopped Tony's answer before it began.

"What appointment?" Tony glared at the ceiling, he still hadn't let go of Loki.

"The renewable energy gala."

"I thought that was at five."

"Yes sir. Mr. Luke asked me to give you a two hour warning. Seeing as it is three, I have done my duty."

"Why did I have to make a computer with sass?" Tony groaned, trying to lie back down. Loki shoved him off and stood, brushing dust off his pants.

"Because you had to prove everyone wrong in a misguided vision of self importance." Loki snarked, strolling out of the room past the other Avengers. Over his shoulder he shouted "GET UP TONY! This is my first time bringing you somewhere and I want it to go well!"

Tony scrambled up, knocking his head on the table . . . again. As he left the room he patted Steve on the shoulder and Bruce on the butt. There was a stunned amused silence as the group watched the two leave. With a little snort Bruce, being the most used to Tony's antics, sat down on the sofa.

"He is quite odd, isn't he?" Bruce comment.

"Who do you mean?" Steve asked.

"That Luke fellow. I don't know what it is, but he is . . . odd." Bruce made a motioned with his hands hopelessly.

"Yes I know. I feel as if I know him. Then again, he is quite mysterious." Natasha commented, rubbing her chin.

"Maybe it's just because he is the first normal person we all have been around for a while. Ever since the battle we have either been with each other or with SHIELD. In comparison everyone would seem odd." Steve piped up. They all nodded in agreement.

"TONY PUT IT ON!"

"BUT IT'S PINK!" Tony's shout echoed through the halls of his mansion. There were many eyes rolling when he came into view, being dragged by Luke wearing a pink tie and black suit. No one said anything as he was pulled out the door with his ear, whimpering the whole way.

In the car Tony and Loki chuckled at their antics.

"Did you see their faces?" Tony laughed, wiping a tear away.

"They are very expressive." Loki said dismissively, glancing at his fingernails.

"Don't look like you weren't having fun. You know you love playing with them." Tony punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"Guilty." Loki smiled. "So where are we going?"

"There is a seminar/gala for renewable energy corporations. I used to make weapons but now I'm all in for renewable energy. I'm hoping to make arc reactor technology available to the public. So a bunch of rich CEO's go to this fancy dinner/ meeting to try and out shine each other and prove that they care more about the environment than the next person." Tony explained.

"Sounds like a riot." Loki deadpanned.

"As much fun as a nun in a stripper bar." Tony smiled. Loki gave him a confused look. "A nun is a woman who has decided to be celibate and boring for god."

"I can tell you that the gods prefer woman weren't celibate."

"Did you ever sleep with a mortal woman?"

"Woman? No, never a mortal woman."

"And men?" Tony asked, catching the hint in the phrasing.

"Just one. Hundreds of years ago. William was his name. Last name had something to do with a weapon. Stake, harpoon, no . . . spear! Shakespeare." He waved his hand lightly in a dismissive fashion. One affair hundreds of years ago really meant nothing to him.

"You . . . you slept with _William Shakespeare_?!" Tony yelped, placing a hand over his heart.

"Yeah?"

"He is the most respected, renowned writer ever!"

"Hmm, he did say something about wanting to be a writer. I'm glad that he was successful." Loki smiled. They sat in silence for a little while, gripping arm rests as the car slipped quickly through the traffic. Tony pulled out his cell phone and was typing rapidly on it.

"I got some of my magic back." Loki mumbled in the quiet. Tony jerked around, nearly throwing his phone.

"Really?!"

"Yeah. Not much though. Not enough that I can do anything with it. In the next few weeks though I will be able to protect myself from my father's magic." Loki stared at his hands.

"That's amazing! I can't wait until I can see you in action. Do you think that I could do some tests when you get it back? Could you teach me anything? Would any of our sensors detect it? I cant wait." Tony rambled as he excitedly ran through all of his ideas. "You will be the best assistant ever! An assistant who can do magic is any CEO's dream come true!"

"You are going to let me stay?" Loki said hesitantly.

"Let you stay? If you leave I'm just going to kidnap you and bring you back! How could you think I would make you leave?" Tony gushed. Loki snorted sardonically.

"I'm sorry. It's normal for people to want me away as quickly as I can run. Why would I think anything different?" Loki stared out the window like a petulant child.

"If I remember correctly you said that I was 'unlike any creature you had ever met in all your travels throughout the realms'." Tony quoted.

"That's because you had just tried to teach you robot arm how to tap dance. I never said that as a compliment." Loki looked at him bemused.

"Still. That means that you should throw away everything that you think I might do. I'm unpredictable baby. You can stay with me until you get tired of me. . . Even then I might force you to come back. Ill lock you in the lab." Tony poked him on the nose.

"Well then . . . thank you." Loki smiled and went back to staring out the widow. When the car began to slow he noticed that there was a huge crowd surrounding a large set of stairs. There were loud cheers as their car stopped and cameras flashed obnoxiously.

"I forgot to tell you that there may be reporters here." Tony mumbled. He flashed Loki a large smile and stepped out of the car. The crowd erupted as women screamed, reporters shouted and cameras turned in their directions. Loki shyly stepped out of the car. It's not like he wasn't used to crowds ( one doesn't try to rule the world if they are scared of attention) but he decided that Luke probably wouldn't be a big crowd fan.

"Mr. Stark! Over here! Tell us about the battle! Did you really die on the other side of the portal?"

"Mr. Stark! Is it true that you have stopped making weapons?"

"Stark, this way! What are you doing now that Ms. Potts in gone?"

"Mr. Stark who is that with you?!" For some reason that question was heard by everyone. The crowd quieted as the noticed Luke stepping beside Tony. Loki was clutching a clipboard he had found in the car and looking shy. Tony smiled at the act, rather enjoying the little blush on his cheeks. He quickly wrapped his arms around the thin shoulders.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I'd like you to meet my new assistant! Meet Luke Smith!"

!

HA! Cliffhanger! Well kind of. Hope you still all like it. I have had comments that I need to update faster. Sorry but I can't. I am currently in college and in the midst of getting an engineering degree. I am going out of my mind with tests and papers. You're all lucky I'm writing anything at all!

So long and good night.


	7. Chapter 7

This chapter is a bit longer and a lot of fun to write. Hope you enjoy it.

!

If Loki had his powers back he would not hesitate to magically gag every person in his vicinity. Had he been vindictive that day he may have also ripped out all of their tongues and threaten to eat them. He was, however, not vindictive or powerful enough to do that. The roar of the crowd was giving him a head ache. Reporters were literally climbing over each other to get closer. Women screeched and took photos at a pitch that would cause the deafest bats to wince and flee. He would love to claim that the women on Asgard were better, more mature. Considering the amount of fawning that happens every time Thor steps out of the castle, he could not. Never happened to him though. No one screamed and cheered for the god of mischief.

"You are insufferable." Loki growled into Tony's ear. The man flashed him a large smile, standing with his arms open in a wide flourish. He was still in that pose from when he announced that Luke was his new assistant. It was getting obnoxious now that it had been nearly a full minute since he said it.

"Quiet you. You know you love this." Tony smirked, still posed with a cocky grin.

"I do not like it." Loki whispered harshly. He turned and waved nervously at the crowd. Not that he was nervous, but he had to do something. Unfortunately it only caused more screaming and more questions.

"The only reason that we found you in the big battle was that you were such a drama queen. Shut up, smile, and play your part. You know you want to." Tony patted him on the shoulder and stepped towards the crowd.

"I know you all have questions. However, this is supposed to be a fancy gala. So shut up and put your hands up. When I call on you, ask your questions." Tony demanded, hands on his hips. The entire crowd quieted in an instant. Hands shot up into the air, some waving frantically. Loki snorted. He wondered how Odin would react knowing that a mortal could control crowds better than he could. Even the Allfather could not make an entire crowd quiet with a sentence.

"Okay. You there! Green shirt, white hat?" Tony pointed to a woman in the reporters section.

"Yes. Mr. Stark. Nancy Boon, CNN. Which agency did you find your new assistant?"

"Didn't use an agency this time. I found him on the streets. Next question! You there!" He pointed a man in the crowd of fans.

"Uh, yeah. Why a guy this time?" The gruff voice asked, a couple of people put down their hands. Apparently there were going to be some overlapping questions. Atleast it would make it easier if not every person had a question.

"I'm adventurous." Tony winked. "Plus, all of my other assistants have been woman and they haven't worked out. Thought I would change pattern and see what happened. You there, the one from FOX. What's your question?" Tony spun around and quirked an eyebrow.

"Is he going to take part in your company as well? What are his qualifications?"

"That was two questions. Don't be a cheater. No, he isn't going to be part of the company. He doesn't have any previous experience and no qualifications. That's why he is perfect. You there. Girl with your breasts out. Nice rack. You get a question."

"Um . . . I have a question for Mr. Smith?"

"Certainly." Loki said in a posh tone, stepping forward. There was a universal squeal from the women in the crowd (and quite a few men who thought they could get away with it).

"Are you single?!" The shout rang out and many people exclaimed happily. Far more hands went down than either Tony or Loki expected. Loki smirked in his head. This must be how Thor felt in Asgard. IT was a bit intoxicating to be on the receiving end of hundreds of lustful stares.

"Yes I am currently single. However I'm not looking for a relationship at the moment." Luke said courteously. There was a large booing in the crowd. Tony pointed to another reporter.

"Mr. Smith, how is it to work with Mr. Stark?"

"It is surprisingly easy. I have no idea what the other people were talking about when they said he was difficult. It is like owning a cat. If you have the right type of rewards you can get him to do anything." Luke mused with a smile. Cameras went off wildly and a chuckle rang out through the crowd.

"Hey! I am nothing like a cat!" Tony yelped in fake offense.

"Says the man who gets distracted by laser pointers." Luke snipped back, loud enough for the entire crowd to hear.

"You got me into the kitchen one time with that trick. Now you won't let it go." Tony pouted, turning his back from Loki. This caused more laughter in the crowd. "Now that I am thoroughly embarrassed I think that it is time for us to go to the thing. I promise you all, there will be another time for you to interrogate my new assistant. I'll just give you some time to think of embarrassing questions for him." Tony bowed with a flourish. He ran up the stairs, pulling Loki behind him like an excited child. Inside they both slumped a little.

"That went better than expected." Loki hummed.

"By far the best press interview I have ever given. Definitely the first one without a lawsuit." Tony gushed.

"And the first one for me that doesn't end with my lips being sewn shut." Loki smirked. Tony shuddered and patted Loki on the shoulder.

"Please don't joke like that. It is incredibly disturbing." Loki decided it was not the best time to explain to him that it wasn't a joke. They both walked towards the conference hall. Tony stopped right before the door.

"Why don't you stay out here for a while? It's going to be very boring in there and we are not supposed to have our assistants with us. Get a coffee or something." Tony handed over his black credit card. He waved and jokingly kissed him on the cheek before slipping through the door.

Loki sat quietly in the small café in the building. He sipped a hot chocolate with mint essence. Thor had one extolled the virtues of the coffee of earth, but it was far too bitter for Loki. The chocolate drink was perfect though. Asgard never had much room for sweets in its kitchen. As Loki visited the other realms he developed a sweet tooth in his fascination to try everything sweet. Midgard, however, was by far the most developed in their sweets. His musings were stopped when a person sat down across from him.

The woman was quiet beautiful. Soft brown hair, bright blue eyes ad tanned skin. She was dressed sharply a navy blue jacket and black skirt. She smiled nicely and took a sip of her own coffee. They sat in silence, staring each other down for a few minutes.

"So you are Mr. Stark's new assistant." She started the conversation without hesitation. Loki appreciated the directness of the woman. Asgard women were well known for their ability to stay elusive with their intentions unknown. Loki mentally berated himself, he really needed to stop thinking of Asgard.

"I am. And you are?" Luke asked kindly with a smile.

"Lynn. Mary Lynn." She stuck her hand out for a handshake.

"Charmed." Loki took the hand, turned it and placed a small kiss on the back of the offered appendage. Mary blushed slightly, pulling her hand back to her lap. "And what can I do for you Miss Lynn?"

"I am a reporter for The Daily New York." Loki looked confused. "Yeah I know. Nobody knows what that is. It's a little newspaper and TV station that I work for. I just started working there. I'm here to get an article on the seminar and gala. They won't let me into the room. I was going to mourn over coffee but then I saw you sitting here." Mary rambled, hiding slightly behind her coffee.

"Hmm. Well I'm sure that you will figure something out. You seem like a smart girl. And beautiful too. You will go far." Luke patted her hand that was on the table. Loki wasn't really great at comforting but since he was the only man on Asgard that didn't have only three emotions (anger, hunger and joy) he ended up comforting a lot of women. He was doing it again, Loki sighed in his head.

"Thank you! No one has ever said anything so nice to me." She gushed with a pleased smile. "It's nice to meet you in person. People like you normally end up famous before many people know them."

"What do you mean?"

"Well since you are the assistant of Tony Stark a lot of people are going to want to have you for interviews and have your face all over the place. The last assistant, Ms. Potts, was known by everyone around the world. You will be too. I would kill for an interview with Mr. Stark or you. It would make my career. Oops." She blushed again and covered her mouth. "I'm sorry. Please don't think that I only came here to beg you for an interview." She stuttered out.

"No worries, my dear. I could never think something so horrid of you." Loki let the compliment roll off his tongue easily. He almost wanted to smirk. This could turn out really well for him.

"Oh thank goodness! I have such a bad habit of rambling myself onto something offensive." Mary waved her hand lightly. Loki hummed and took a sip of his hot chocolate.

"You know, no one had asked me for an interview yet. I'd be glad to know that my first appearance would be handled by someone as sweet as you. I know you wouldn't think of portraying me as anything other than what I am." Loki smiled.

"REALLY?! . . . I mean, that would be so wonderful!" Mary gasped. "What about next week? We could do it on your schedule. Here let me get you my card and write the stations number down." She grabbed her purse and began to dig through it. She pulled out a business card with her name and scrawled a number on its back. Loki took it graciously. He let his fingers wrap around hers for an extra second before letting go.

"You know. We could probably do the interview at Mr. Stark's mansion. I'm living there for now and I'm sure he wouldn't be mad about me brining you."

"Go to …. Mr. Stark's mansion… Are you serious?! No reporter has ever been there. That would be the most amazing thing ever! I've always wanted to see what is inside there. Oh Mr. Smith, you are the most amazing thing ever!" She leaned over the table and pulled Luke into a hug. Loki chuckled and patted her on the back.

"It is my pleasure Miss Lynn." He said as she let go. They talked for a while after that. It was mostly Loki asking Mary questions about her life. It was exciting getting to talk to people again. Loki found that him acting as Luke wasn't far different from him acting like himself. It gave him some confidence back knowing that people could like him for who he really was.

When Tony came out of the boring seminar he immediately searched for Loki. He saw the blond/green head bob in a booth in the café. He paused when he saw a woman sitting across from him. There appeared to be no panicked screams, tears, or whimpers. So it seemed all good. He strutted up and clapped a hand on Loki's shoulder.

"Now who is this flirting with my new assistant?" Tony flashed his most winning smile at the shy girl.

"This is Mary Lynn. She is a reporter. I agreed to have an interview with her next week. We were just talking about annoying siblings." Loki looked up at Tony. The billionaire snorted.

"Networking already. Well it is a pleasure to meet you Miss Lynn. Any friend of Luke is a friend of mine." He moved to shake her hand, which caused her to almost pass out.

"Thank you very much Mr. Stark! It is great to meet you too! You must be going to the gala! I won't keep you! I need to go and interview some of the people coming out." She stood quickly picking up a notebook.

"Put me down saying that it was boring. Oh and ask Mr. Charlesky about his slip up." Tony said. She nodded her head a lot and quickly walked away.

"Did you have fun?" Tony asked. Loki nodded and made to stand, throwing his cup in a nearby trash can.

"It is great talking to people without them glaring at you or expecting you to trick them." Loki smiled softly.

"Well don't get used to it. This gala is full of glaring old men. They all expect me to trick them. No idea why though." Tony scoffed and they both moved off to the dance hall. Hours of schmoozing later (with plenty of quips about other guests) they both happily got into the limo and headed home.

!

I don't have much left to say. Thanks for reviewing. Gives me the self confidence (read narcissism) that I really need. Next chapter has more fun with the Avengers. And the wonderful interview (maybe). It depends on how long the chapter goes. I might just write an extra long chapter for that one. The world is going to love Loki!

Tata for now.


	8. Chapter 8

So this chapter is a whole page longer than my normal chapters. I guess you could call it a reward for all the awesome reviews I have been getting. Seriously, I don't know if it is just this fandom but you guys love commenting. I would be lying by saying that I don't enjoy that! Here is a little bit of humor, a lot of angst and a visit.

DUN DUN DUNNNNN THOR!

Btw I'm not sure if you have noticed that I switch between Loki and Luke. There is no real set time that I do that. Mostly when people other than Tony is addressing him. However, it is all to my discretion. I am very inconsistent.

!

Two days later the Avengers were getting used to Luke. Well, getting as used to him as they could. The man almost never left Starks side and when he did he was reading, watching TV or sorting through piles of papers. Currently he was in the TV room with one of those piles of papers. Bruce and Clint watched amazed as exact replicas of Tony Stark's famous signature graced a lot of the papers even though he was not in the room. They had been watching TV and invited Luke to sit with them.

"Do I have something on my face Mr. Barton?" Luke asked without looking up from a form. Both the men jumped and tried not to look guilty.

"No." Clint mumbled, barely acting like he was ashamed. Luke leaned back from the paper stretching his arms over his head. His fingers crack grotesquely and he sighed in pleasure when they did. "Did Stark really find you on the street?" He asked without any fan fare.

"What makes you ask that?" Loki questioned. He was quite enjoying the peacefulness before Clint spoke. The soft murmur of the TV was comforting.

"Well he said you did." Hawkeye waved a hand at the TV. On the screen there was a video of Tony and him outside the gala. The head newscaster, a woman with far too much make up, was droning on over the video.

"The mysterious new assistant of billionaire Tony Stark has caused a spark around the world. This man appears out of nowhere and has stolen the hearts of many of Mr. Starks fan club. There seems to be no record of this guy anywhere. The world eagerly anticipates the interview between him and the Daily New York will be happening in two days. It is the only interview he has said he will attend and has refused all other offers." Suddenly the show was interrupted by Tony's shouting.

"Hey I was going to get Chinese. I was thinking about getting two of everything because I can't decided. Anything you guys particularly want me to order more of?" Tony sauntered in with phone and menu in hand.

"Really? Two of everything Tony?" Bruce admonished.

"What is the use of being a billionaire if you can't frivolously spend money on food? Hey darling." Tony acknowledged Loki before dropping into his lap. He draped his legs over the arms of the chair. Loki smiled but said nothing. "Hey! We are on TV!"

"When are you not on TV?" Clint teased. Tony smirked from his lap-come-chair.

"Jealous birdy?"

"Hardly. I enjoy my solitude." Barton bantered back. They room watched in fascination as Tony dialed the phone and ordered Chinese. The surreal conversation made them stare.

"Hey Mark, its Tony. Fine man, super fine. How's the daughter? Fifteen, no way! Yeah my usual order but double it. Glad to help out. Tell your son I'll be at his wedding. I get to kiss the bride! Ha ha yeah. Okay, see you in twenty." He fell limp as he ended the call.

"You're on first name terms with your Chinese place?" Bruce asked with a chuckle.

"You kidding me? I was there for his wife's first visit to the doctors after she got pregnant. Signed the ultra sound and everything. Best Chinese in Malibu I promise you." Toy mused. The group brushed it off as another one of Tony's may eccentracies. Not soon after Natasha and Steve joined them in the living room. They continued watching the re-run footage of the impromptu press conference of Luke and Tony.

Twenty minutes and a large cart of Chinese food was delivered to them in the hands of Mark Chan. A few words were exchanged and a couple hundred dollar bills passed over and the team began to gorge themselves on the feast. The channel was changed and they were watching a reality TV show because Natasha took control of the remote and no one was brave enough to take it off her. IN the end everyone was so stuffed with food they couldn't have moved to reach the remote even if they wanted to.

Steve stared in fascination as Luke kept eating, even after the super solider himself managed to stuff himself. Loki was slurping noodles at an alarming rate. The god had been introduced to Chinese food a while ago and it quickly became his favorite. He even considered trying to conquer Midgard again just so he could demand it be made for him every day. He raised an eyebrow as the super solider coughed in surprise when he reached for another container, this time of some vegetable and meat mix, and continued eating.

"That's disgusting." Natasha commented as she watched the incredible amount of food that was disappearing.

"Sorry. I have quite a bit of an appetite." Loki shrugged, not apologetic in the slightest.

"Where do you put it?" Tony asked, poking his chair in the belly. He only stood briefly to hand money to his friend before lying across Loki's lap again. Who knew gods made such great cushions? Was Thor this comfortable? He was broken from his musings when a huge crash rocked the entire house.

Outside there was a storm. Clouds were black and giant. Lighting flickered loudly as it followed huge rumbles of thunder. The Avengers all jumped to their feet, Tony pushing Luke behind him. They all knew it was Thor; no one else could make a storm appear out of nowhere. However it did not mean that Thor came in a friendly capacity.

Loki cringed and fisted his hands in Tony's shirt. He cursed himself for shaking in fear but he could not stop it. Those thunderclouds were much like the ones from his nightmares. He hoped that when Thor found him he would at least have the semblance of gentleness.

"Don't worry, I won't let him take you." Tony mumbled in his ear. He felt himself relax a little but it was quickly gone when he heard his dreaded brothers voice ring throughout the halls.

"FRIENDS! Friends I bring news!" Thor thundered into the room in full Asgard armor and miljnor held up.

"Jesus, Point Break! Did you have to break my roof? I just rebuilt it!" Tony huffed, making the Asgardian stop in his tracks.

"I am sorry Man of Iron. I come with important news and I forgot in my haste that your architecture is not as strong." Thor bowed slightly.

"What's the problem Thor?" Good ol' captain, always the sensible one.

"It's my brother. . . He has escaped!" There was a heavy silence as the announcement went through the room. The two assassins immediately reached for their weapons. Bruce turned slightly green but managed to keep it contained. Tony tensed and pushed Loki behind him. Loki bit his hand to contain his whimper. His mind immediately fell to all the horrible things his ex-brother would do to him the moment he laid eyes on him.

"How could you let him escape?" Clint yelled. Thor glanced at him, widening his shoulder imperiously at the perceived insult.

"I did not let him escape. He did not have his magic, he could not escape on his own. Someone helped him and has been shielding him." Thor answered in his booming voice.

"Someone helped him?!"

"He didn't have magic?"

"Is he on Earth?"

The cacophony of questions confused Thor and he ended up not being able to answer any of them. Everyone was yelling except the barely contained rage monster, the genius and the shivering god behind him. Tony rubbed the bridge of his nose trying to abate the headache that was the room. HE decided it was best to get this over with and see if he was going to have to fight everyone and escape with Loki to Russia.

"Jarvis, air horn please." The command was quieter than the rest of the screaming but the AI was able to hear it. Suddenly the loud noise of the horn startled everyone into silence. Tony put a hand on Loki's shoulder as an apology. The room turned to the genius, who stood with his arms crossed like an angry parent.

"Will you guys be quiet. You are startling my assistant." He motioned to Luke who was peering over his shoulder. Immediately the assassin backed down. Thor looked like a guilty puppy. His eyes quickly searched Luke, causing the entire room to wallow in tense silence.

"I am sorry Man of Iron. I am also sorry Lord Assistant. I was unaware there was anyone else here. I would have controlled myself more." HE bowed in apology. Loki let out a soft sigh of relief. If Thor was going to recognize him, that would be the moment.

"It's okay." He managed to squeak out. He still hadn't managed to pull himself out from behind Tony.

"Okay. So Loki escaped from prison." He clapped his hands together. "Do you know where he might be? Do you know he is on Earth?" Tony asked.

"We are unsure because we cannot track his magic. We believe so because the last trace of his signal is from Midgard but he could have left."

"You said he lost his magic? What are we talking about here? Full on mortal or just reduced to Houdini?" Tony continued the questioning since no one else took up the gauntlet.

"He is supposed to be reduced to mortal state. However, since he was no doubt released by a sorcerer they may have relieved him of the spell the prevented it." Thor's expression darkened. There was another awkward silence in the room as they tried to process that information.

"Have you told Fury yet?" Natasha asked.

"Not yet, this was my first stop." Thor said, wrinkling his eyebrow.

"Well since Loki is not here trying to attack us and there has been no sign of him I think we should inform Fury." Widowed offered.

"Very well! I will go inform the Man of Fury!" Thor boomed before running off and disappearing into the sky. The Avengers sat there in the quiet the abrupt exit left in its wake. Natasha could be heard mumbling about the "idiocies of men".

"Well it seems like Thunder Thighs is not coming back for a while. I guess we can just wait to see what Shield says." Tony gushed. "I'm going to whisk away my assistant so we can go over the roofs insurance policies.

"I pity you Luke." Clint shouted from the couch as the man in question was pulled out of the room by the excited man-child named Tony. The moment that Tony pulled him into his room he locked the door and pulled the shuddering Norse god into his arms.

"Shh. It's okay. It worked, he didn't recognize you." Tony mumbled reassuring words into the blonde head buried in his chest. There were choked sobs as he rocked the lean man in his arms. He pulled them over to the bed, lucky he ran into Loki's room. The other man curled into his lap.

"What are we going to do?" Loki whispered .

"Do? Nothing. We are going to continue doing what we are doing. Soon enough they will think that you left Earth or never came. Then once you are back to your full strength it's up to you. You can go to another realm, stay here, wreak havoc on unsuspecting mortals."

"You would let me do that?"

"Yeah." Tony smiled, rubbing his nose in the soft hair. It startled him to realize that he was being honest. It would tear him apart if Loki left, since he was now a major part in his life. However if the man wanted to stay here or even on Midgard and go back to being a villain then Ton would let him.

"And if I am found out?"

"I throw a flash bang and we escape through the window. Then we are off to Russia and asking asylum from a friend of mine. There they wouldn't be able to legally get to you. Fury won't risk it because I'll pull all my funding from Shield which would make it about as useful as a lemonade stand in an abandoned neighborhood." Tony immediately replied.

"You would do that for me?"

"Yeah."

It took about an hour but Loki finally fell asleep in Tony's arms. Tony smiled as he laid him in the bed ad wrapped him in a blanket. HE went back to the TV room and informed the other superheroes that he was going to the lab and that Luke fell asleep after looking at the insurance reports (which who could blame him?). The group just nodded their head and went back to the television.

The four left in the room were all quiet as the TV raged on. Clint had laid his head in Natasha's lap and was letting her thin fingers card through his hair. He flinched but didn't comment when occasionally her sharp fingernails dug into his skull. Bruce was sitting cross-legged on the floor, humming softly to himself in meditation. Steve sat pensively, pencil and drawing pad in hand. Every once in a while he would put the pencil to paper but each time it was rough violent scratches. They were all lost in thought about Loki. The anger that his name brought, and also the fear. Never had a villain been so close to exterminating the entire world. They all almost lost their lives on numerous occasions.

So engrossed in their own thoughts they did not hear the simpering that leaked from the room down the hall. But soon the whimpering became words and the words screams. As the first bellow came from the hall they all jumped, clutching hearts or weapons. Without a second thought they all careened down the hall, Bruce at a slightly slower pace, to stop in front of Luke's bedroom door. Swinging it open they were greeted with the unpleasant sight of the thin assistant in the throes of a nightmare.

There was begging. Luke writhed on his bed as he begged his father to stop, begged to stop being hurt, pleaded with an unseen enemy for respite. It was violent, loud and agonizing. The gasps, screams and shuddering sobs caused them to collectively shiver. Bruce was the first to snap out of it but before he could move into the room Tony came careening past him. They watched without a word as the grease stained (and slightly smoking) genius pulled his flailing assistant into his arms and began coo-ing. They peered on like deers in headlights at the odd scene. As soon as Tony began to pet Luke's head in a comforting way the man settled down. They watched until both men fell asleep covered in dirt, grease and tears.

While they slept peacefully none of the other Avengers did. Their night was haunted by the mysterious assistant. Tortured by his screams and burned by the curiosity that made them want to know what happened to the man.

!

IMPORTANT: I need your all's advise. I have a potential idea for a chapter somewhat in the future (probably four or five chapters ahead) but I'm not sure whether you would all think it appropriate. How do you feel about Abused!Tony? I was thinking about bringing it in as a character study/"make Thor realize he is an ass" type of thing but I have no idea whether it is good to put it in this story. If not I will be writing it up as a one-shot completely separate of its own, but I thought I'd ask.

Any comments or suggestions would be most welcomed.


	9. Chapter 9

Okay this chapter is not my best. It's a bit shorter than the rest. I am currently taking a class over the summer that is the equivalent of one week of work per day. So there is much potential for me missing my next Sunday guideline. In fact I just finished this chapter Saturday at 11:58. So don't judge me or get mad!

Warning: kisses!

!

When Loki woke up he was wrapped tightly around the playboy genius Tony Stark. His cheek was pressed harshly against the arc reactor, taking in the solace provided by its soft hum instead of a heart beat. He stared at the placid face before him. He guessed that he had a nightmare last night. It had been a while since he had one of those. Then again, it has been even longer since he and seen Thor. A shudder ran through him as he thought of the man that was once his brother. He had looked furious when he stormed in. Loki felt his heart pause for a full three seconds as he saw the man burst through the doors. Like the lightning he personified, Thor came and went with nothing but a loud sound a bright flash, leaving as soon as he arrived.

"Go back to sleep." Tony moaned, brushing his nose against the top of Loki's hair. He made no move to pull away from the gripping octopus that was the god of mischief.

"We must get up Stark, what if your Avengers see us?" Loki huffed, pushing against the hard chest pathetically.

"Let them see. They already know that I'm in here." Loki eyes widened in fear and Tony patted his head calmingly. "Don't worry. You didn't say anything incriminating. Also, they all have nightmares of their own. Nobody here will judge you for them."

Loki smiled ad relaxed a little. He was still uncomfortable that they had seen him so weak. In Asgard he would have been ridiculed mercilessly for the night terrors. However, the fact that Tony was willing to try to placate him made him happy. A tight feeling grew in his chest as he thought about it.

"Hey Tony . . . Thank you." He pushed the words out. Tony chuckled and nuzzled his head again.

"Don't worry about it."

"No really." Loki looked up. He used his hands to push Tony' chin so that he was looking into his eyes. Their noses were so close that they almost brushed. Loki licked his lips lightly. "Really. Thank you. For everything. For the nightmares, the safety, everything you have given me."

They stared at each other a moment more. They were both breathing heavily and their chest brushed at each exhale. Suddenly, without a thought, Loki pushed forward and rubbed his lips against Tony's in a mockery of a kiss. Tony immediately pushed forward so their lips came into full contact. It was passionate, hot and entirely chaste. As quick as the kiss began, it ended. Loki's blue eyes were so wide Tony thought they were going to burst out of his face. With a small squeak and a flash of green Tony was alone in Loki's bed, thoroughly confused. It took him a full thirty seconds to react to the other mans disappearance.

"JARVIS!" HE shouted.

"Good morning sir." The mechanical voice answered promptly.

"Can you sense where Loki is?" He asked, jumping off the bed to pull on the shirt he had lost during the night. He looked down at his pajama pants, deciding against changing them.

"Of course sir. He is currently on the roof. Would you like me to send him a message?"

"No. Just tell me if he moves." Tony ordered. He practically ran out of the room and jumped into an elevator. He angrily urged the elevator to move faster. Perhaps he should put boosters on it? As soon as the thought left the doors opened and showed the beautiful skyline of Malibu in the morning. On the ledge of the roof Loki sat. His hair was back to the way it was before it was dyed, long and silky black. His shoulders were hunched over and his arms were crossed over his chest like he was hugging himself.

Tony said nothing. He just walked over to the edge of the room and plonked down next to the shivering god. He did not look at him, steadily keeping his eyes on the sunrise before him. He felt Loki's eyes drift to him.

"Looks like you got your magic back." Tony mused.

"I'm sorry." Loki mumbled.

"What for?" Tony cocked an eyebrow, which looked odd because he still hadn't looked at Loki.

"For kissing you. I crossed the line. I hope you can forgive me."

"You know I am insulted." Tony said. Loki 'eeped' and hunched deeper into himself. "You didn't even wait long enough to see if I liked it. Just poofed off without even asking. Nothing is worse than having an empty bed right after an excellent kiss." Tony kept going, turning and smiling at the man beside him. Loki glanced at him confused, wrinkling his nose like a bunny.

"I'm sorry?" Tony chuckled and swung an arm to catch him around his shoulders. He pulled Loki into a tight hug, ignoring the way the man flinched.

"There is nothing to be sorry for. I just told you I liked it. . . However, there is something I have to ask you." Tony placed his hand under his chin and lifted his face. "Did you kiss me because you felt like you owed me or because you like me?"

There was a heavy silence as they sat there. They could hear the waves crashing against the cliff Tony's house resided on. Birds called out to each other in the early morning. Loki's whispered answer was so quiet that Tony almost didn't hear him over these sounds.

"Because I like you. I do owe you. I owe you more than I could ever repay. Still I like you. For the man you are."

"Well that settles that, then." Tony said, patting him on the back. Loki looked at him confused. "Well I like you too."

"You do?"

"Of course how could I not? Don't answer that." Tony shushed him before he could say anything."Now I don't think we should jump in a relationship right away. I say we go on a couple of those dates ive promised you and take this slow. Sound good?" Tony smile as Loki nodded, looking slightly dazed.

"Sir?" JARVIS interrupted them.

":What do you want JARVIS?" Tony asked with a growl. HE did hate to be interrupted, especially when the interruption happened just before he was about to go in for a kiss.

"There is a Mary Lynn waiting for you outside the door. She informed me she is from New York and waiting for an interview with Mr. Smith." The robotic butler informed them. With a chuckle they awkwardly stood up and went to the elevator. In the elevator Tony bumped his shoulder jokingly against Loki's.

"You might wanna change you looks back. Unless you want to frighten Miss Lynn."

"Odin forbid." Loki smirked, allowing his magic to turn his hair back to the way Tony had made it. He thought for a second before changing the green in his hair to red. He glanced nervously at Tony. He silently berated himself for that move.

"Listen, don't worry about it. We can talk about it more after your interview. Don't over think it. There is nothing you can do that will make me hate you and I want this as much as you do, okay? Just have fun!" Tony stepped gloriously off the elevator to see Mary Lynn and five assistants and a cameraman sitting in his lobby. They all stood as they left the elevator. Mary Lynn squeaked and blushed.

Looking down at his own pajamas and glancing at Loki's ensemble (a pair of Captain America PJ pants and no shirt) he realized the image that they made. With a shrug he waved a hand at Luke with a smirk.

"Good morning Miss Lynn. I think you are here to see my assistant?" Tony said in his normal flamboyant way.

"Excuse him Miss. Lynn; he enjoys acting like an idiot." Luke brushed past him to shake her hand and place a soft kiss on its back. "You see, we forgot that today was your interview and overslept. I have yet to change because I was unsure what you wanted me to wear. He has yet to change because he lives I nothing but his pajamas." All Tony could think as he said that was 'smooth bastard'.

"Why don't you join us upstairs and we can begin our interview?" Luke quirked an eyebrow. He offered his arm to Mary. All the girls on the crew giggled and followed the two.

"He is quite good at that." Tony mumbled to the camera man, who nodded in agreement. "Well, you have fun with the girls. Tell Luke that I'll be in the lab, alright big boy?" Tony patted him on the shoulder before escaping to the other elevator.

When Tony entered his lab the first thing he noticed was the smell of something burning. Glancing around he saw Bruce with a broken bottle, ash on his face and a startled look. Tony smirked at swaggered over to him.

"Wasn't your game plan to prevent the other guy to not be startled? Or do things _you_ make explode not count?"

"Tony. Well yes, this wasn't planned you see. Did not know it would be that reactive." Bruce said with a humble smile, putting down his tools and packing up.

"Don't leave on my account. I have been looking for a science buddy for years. Stay. Chat. Science!" Tony said with a sweeping arm gesture. He went over to his desk ad put on a pair of goggles.

"Chat about what?" Bruce asked with a laugh.

"Whatever you want Big Green! I'm an open book." Tony smiled softly.

"Well can we talk about Luke?" Tony looked up in confusion. He grabbed a pen and swiveled in his chair.

"What do wanna talk about with Luke?"

"I'm just curious about him. No one knows where he came from. Then he shows up here and you're like a different person." Brice paused there and crinkled his nose. "Well not a new person. Different for sure. Like all your edges had been sanded down."

"Really?" Tony hummed in a noncommittal way.

"Yes. And imagine our surprise. No one had heard from you for weeks. We knew Pepper had left. When we showed up we expected a wreck of a man. Drunken, unshaven and close to death. Fury had even called a meeting to begin your intervention. Yet we get here and you are fine. Better than fine, really. You are drinking less. Within the realms of human consumption I'd say." Bruce smirked here. Tony pulled a face. Still he had turned his chair and was waiting for Bruce to continue.

"You are eating healthy. Not spending thousands of hours in your lab. You have a new assistant. A boy, not a buxom blonde. Someone you actually listen to . Someone you seem to like." Bruce trailed off.

"Yeah he is great."

"Then last night. I have never seen you act like that. Never been so comfortable with someone. Even with Miss Potts you seemed so reserved. With Luke its like you are a different person." Brice smiled, taking off his glasses.

"I don't know if I should be flattered or worried you have been watching me Brucey. Though do you have a point other than how un-cool I am becoming?" Tony was getting a little defensive now. They were moving into potentially dangerous territory.

"I was wondering how much you liked him. Far more than any acquaintance, more than any employee that is for sure. I think, however, you like him more than as a friend or even a quick lay." Bruce stared at Tony. His soft brown eyes pierced Tony. Tony felt himself blush.

"I'm not sure. I haven't been able to think about it yet. I mean we only just talked about it this morning." Tony ducked his head while Bruce smiled.

"Well whatever you choose, I approve of him." Bruce said, patting on him the shoulder. HE left quietly while Tony stared embarrassed at the table.

!

IM SUCH A TEASE! I bet you all thought you were going to get the infamous interview! Nope, not yet. Just didn't feel right.

Three cheers for everyone that reviewed and answered my question. The option is still up in the air if you all want to have some input. OK. Back to my Harry Potter movie marathon.


	10. Chapter 10

Well this was a bit short. I know I was building up to this interview and I'm not sure if it ended up as good as I said I was going to, to be honest…. I was drunk when writing half of this and hung over writing the other half. Oh well.

Hopefully you enjoy it. If you don't hit me up and I will re-write it!

!

TVs around the world were blaring. It was a cacophony of sound that those from the other realms in tune with the universe all lifted their head in confusion before brushing it off as nothing. Nearly every TV on Midgard was on and they were all tuned into the same channel. At 8:00 the theme music for the Daily New York rose gloriously into the night air. Everyone danced, shuffled or squirmed in their seats from the excitement. It was time for the world to learn about the mysterious Luke Smith.

The TV's flickered on and a young blonde woman shuffled her papers and looked at the camera with a smile.

"Welcome to the Daily New York on channel five. I'm Skylar Marks. Today is an exciting day as we air the first interview of Tony Stark's Mysterious interview. It took place in Tony Stark's mansion in Malibu, a place no other reporter has gone. Mary Lynn got the story."

The scene changed and the video showed Luke Smith lounging on one of Tony's expensive white couches. He wore a tight fitting black t-shirt and a pair of jeans however he sat so regally he could have been wearing a three piece suit. He looked at the camera with a smile.

"Oh are we filming?" He asked.

"Yes we are." The voice of Mary Lynn came from off camera. "Mr. Smith, why don't you tell us a little about yourself?"

"About myself? Hmm . . . I'm not really sure what to say. I'm thirty five years old. I was born in Michigan. I am Mr. Starks personal health assistant. I have always wanted a guinea pig and I want to call it Bubbles."

"Thirty five?! There is no way. You have got to be in your twenties!" Mary Lynn gasped.

"No really! I am thirty five."

"You certainly don't look it." Luke waved his hand in disagreement.

"Miss Lynn you flatter me." He blushed lightly and cutely. The camera zoomed in a little closer to his face.

"You said you were from Michigan? How did you end up in California and working for Mr. Stark?"

"That is a long sad story. I'm not sure if anyone would like to hear about that." Luke trailed odd shyly.

"No, no. we would like to hear it if it's not too much trouble."

"Ok. It started in Michigan. I was nine at the time and my little brother was only five, an we lost both of our parents. Mark, my brother, and I were forced into faster care because none of our other family was willing to take us in. Despite my best efforts it didn't take long for us to be separated. I was sent to a dingy little foster house with kids my own age and older. Mark was adopted but a couple and moved out to Nevada. I was happy for him. He had new parents, but because of the move we could rarely talk and only by letters." Loki stared wistfully off to the side. When he turned back his eyes were wide and glistening with unshed tears.

"Then I got a letter. It had been months since I had gotten on. I had thought that maybe he had forgotten me. I was sad but also happy for him, after all, he had a new family to worry about and not me. By the time I got the letter I was eleven and still in a foster house. I had been bouncing around all two years. I was ecstatic to get that letter. Then I read it." Luke shielded his eyes from the camera as he rubbed the bridge of his nose trying not to get choked up,

"Mark was getting abused. Badly. They were beating him so much he could hardly walked or do anything. Mark ha tried to tell his teacher, but his parents were outstanding members of society. No one believed him. His letter begged me to come rescue him. Begged me to forgive him for going away with these people and to come take him home." He drew in a shuddering breathe before returning to look at the camera.

"So what did you do?" Mary Lynn asked quietly.

"What any other brother would. I packed a bag and ran away from my foster home to get him. I had been doing a babysitting job recently so I did have a little bit of money. I hopped on a bus and headed to Nevada. When I got to my brother house they refused to let me see him. So I waited until the night and snuck into his room from the window. He was locked in his closet. Mark was so bloody that I thought he was dead. Then I realized that it was my fault. His new father probably beat him because I had shown up at their door. I carried his unconscious body out of the window and all the way to the dingy motel I had rented. I bandage him up and waited for him to wake up.

"When he did we hugged and cried. Mark kept begging me for forgiveness and I begged him for my own. It was not all good after that. We were on the run from the police who were saying I kidnapped him. We got out of Nevada as soon as we could. Once in California I looked for work claiming I was fifteen but I had a height problem. We stayed on the run for seven years like that. Just after my eighteenth birthday Mike got sick. Very sick. It wasn't a month later before he died in a hospital bed. They still don't know what went wrong. They couldn't even tell if it was a disease of a body problem. Still, I was now alone.

"I didn't have an education though. The police dropped all charges on my when I turned myself in after Mikes death. Turns out he parents adopted another child and he had died from the abuse they put him through. Still I was left with nothing. For the majority of the next seventeen years I remained jobless and homeless. Then Mr. Stark rescued me. He gave me a job and clothes and food and a home." Luke smiled at the camera and it was a true, genuine smile.

"I am SO sorry." Mary Lynn gushed.

"Thank you Miss Lynn. But that was a very long time ago."

"So Mr. Stark really did find you on the streets?"

"He did. He had put a hundred dollars in my cup. I tried to return it because I thought he made a mistake and gave me the wrong bill. Instead he laughed and gave me a job."

"That's amazing."

"Yes. Mr. Stark is an amazing, underappreciated man." Luke smiled kindly, relaxing back into the sofa.

"What do you mean?"

"Tony Stark is possibly the most important man in this country and everyone spends their free time picking his flaws. He was the main supplier for the US military and protected this country far more than any person. And when the government could not handle everything he put himself in the line of fire and became Iron man. He donates millions of dollars every year, on record and anonymously. He is the leading power in clean energy as well as medical science. If he drinks a bit more than he should and enjoys the lime light it is a small price to pay." Luke smirked.

"And the other assistant. Miss Potts. She said that Tony was intolerable and many people agree."

"Pardon my words but Miss Potts is an idiot to the highest degree." His expression darkened dramatically.

"A lot of people think that she was really great." Mary Lynn said. Luke sneered a little.

"When Miss Potts left Mr. Stark she made the biggest mistake of her life. When she publically defamed him she nearly destroyed him. She is self centered and feels entitled. The downfall in her relationship with Mr. Stark was her fault only. She made the same mistake that everyone else does when they are working with Mr. Stark."

"And what mistake is that?"

"They expect Mr. Stark to do everything for them while giving him nothing in return. She demanded that he stop drinking, but she never gave him anything else to do with his time or another way to deal with the stress. She wanted his full attention but gave did nothing to deserve that attention. The world ask so much of him and don't give anything back. There is only so long a person can work like that." Luke trailed off pointedly.

"Well I'm sure that will give the world something to think about MR. Smith. Now if you don't mind there are some questions viewers sent in and I wanted to see if you would answer a few of them." Mary Lynn said happily, moving away from the topic.

"Anything you desire." Luke smirked and waved his arm for her to go ahead.

"What is your favorite color?"

"I am partial to green but I also like gold."

"What is your biggest fear?"

"I am quite the arachnophob."

"Do you play a sport?"

"No I prefer to read."

"What has been the hardest thing about working with Tony Stark?"

"Trying to escape from being the test for his experiments. He seems to think that because he pays me he can stick me with anything he likes." Luke said with a laugh.

"Thank you so much for this interview Mr. Smith. IT was very enjoyable. Is there anything else you would like to say?"

"No, thank you Miss Lynn. It was fun, I have never been interviewed. To the world I would like to say this. Thank you for the amazing compliment you gave me by asking me for this interview. I am merely an assistant and you all felt that I deserve this attention. So, thank you."

The Show went back to the announcer who started a running commentary on the interview. People in their homes turned to each other and discussed what they had just seen. In a mansion in Malibu Tony squeezed Loki's shoulder and smiled at him. It didn't take long but soon the realm of Midgard when back to its normal quiet.

!

OH BTW. There have been quite a few votes about the abused!tony issue. There is still time to put in your vote. So far it has been overwhelmingly for (only one person has said no so far). Cast your votes if you want input. You only have about two chapters left to decide.


	11. Chapter 11

First of all. Thank you for all of my reviewers as well as all the people who are following the story. Reviews are fantastic but I also take followers as a huge compliment. Secondly, I think it is finally time for me to answer some of the questions that I have been posed.

**Dementra** here is your answer! You asked why Tony would allow Fury into his home and the Avengers there without his permission. There are many reasons that Tony would do this. Despite all of his masochistic tendencies he would not want to take the brunt of Fury's anger. He also sees it as an opportunity to reconnect with Bruce, who would only come if the Avengers came. Finally it was also an attempt to see if he could get away with Loki being there. To get any confrontations over with sooner rather than later

**Mythical-laf** here is your answer! Yes I did make the story of Luke's brother up on the spot. For this story I have no real plan. I have a series of major events I have vaguely in my head. I type them on the spot and only occasionally go back to the chapters. For example, that last chapter was planned as: Interview, Loki's sad story, good things about Tony, bad things about Pepper.

Finally, I did notice the mistake someone pointed out about me switching the names. Because of my amazing writing problems I solve that in this chapter. Enjoy!

!

Loki and Tony were in the car on the way to SHEILD. Fury had called in and demanded that the entirety of the Avengers team so=how up for the meeting. So Tony, being Tony, assumed that he could bring Luke along. So they were on their way to the port to hop aboard the helicarrier.

"Nice story 'Luke'" Tony smirked using air quotes. Loki smirked as well and lounged against the leather seats of the car.

"I was not named Silver Tongue for nothing. I am the master of lies."

"Well master of lies. Let's just hope that no one was listening too closely to your story." Tony chuckled before looking at his phone.

"What do you mean?"

"You messed up. Changed your brother's name mid story. I mean, its okay. I think most people were crying too much to catch the mistake." Tony laughed as Loki punched him lightly in the shoulder.

"I would like to see you do a better job! No one would believe any of your sob stories!" Loki pouted, crossing his arms like a petulant child.

The rest of the car ride was silent as they whipped through the cities. Occasionally they would poke each other in the shoulder and point outside the tinted windows to a person on the street. It wasn't long until the car pulled up to a dock where the enormous helicarrier sat conspicuously. At the entrance to the gigantic boat/flying machine both men presented their ID's. Actually Luke presented their ID's while Tony waxed on poetically about how he was so famous that he shouldn't need an ID, let alone present to some sissy little receptionist.

When they walked into the conference room all of the Avengers were there, already sat in their seats. Tony brushed his jacket away an swept into his seat. Luke leaned on the wall with his arms crossed. At the head of the table Fury was read in the face and fuming. He gripped the table harshly and glared at Tony.

"What is he doing here Stark? He does not have clearance to be in here." He yelled spittle flying across the table. Tony smirked and kicked his feet onto the table.

"If you look it up, you will find that he does." Fury glared at him one more time before looking at the assistant that sat to his right. The woman showed him something on a pad. He snorted and turned back to the table.

"I believe we talked about you hacking into our systems."

"You did. I remember it very clearly. However I did not break your little rule. You will find that many things can still be done with old fashion bribery." Tony smirked and flashed a wink at Luke. Luke smiled as he remembered when he had to send a substantial sum to a random person, that explained a lot.

"Listen it doesn't matter if he had clearance or not. Even if he didn't he would be able to watch this entire meeting at home because of JARVIS. So let's just get this meeting started. Hey there Pikachu." Tony smiled at Thor who was watching the exchange with interest.

"Hello there friend Stark." He boomed with a smile.

"So what is the reason for this meeting Patchy?"

"We are here to discuss Loki."

"Have you found anything?" Steve perked up.

"No we have not. That is the problem." Fury stood and crossed his arms behind his back.

"Hmm. Actually can I interrupt. I have a proposal." The table rolled their eyes. Tony ignored the looks and dug around in his bag. He pulled out a little machine in the middle of the table and pressed a button. An image projected itself in the air. It was an array of blue lights with a few flashes of green. It stayed vaguely human shaped but the lights bowed and flexed.

"Is this what I think it is?" Bruce asked in wonder, pulling on his glasses. He leaned over the table in interest.

"Yes it is."

"Amazing." Bruce breathed. He traced a few of the paths with his finger. The rest of the group stared but tried to

"Stark what am I looking at?" Fury interrupted in an angry way. That surprised no one since the man has not other emotion than angry, pissed off and irate. Tony smirked and waved his arm at the image with a showman's flick of the wrist.

"This is a digital image of energy flow. This image happens to be of Loki when he first arrived in Germany." Luke perked up ad examined the image. Sure he knew how is power worked and flowed but he had never seen it, not in this way.

"And why are you showing me this?" Fury said, still in an angry tone.

"To show you these." Tony pressed another button and the picture shifted to make room for two more. One image was or the same blue flowing and jerking, this time in the vague shape of a box. The third image was shaped as a human again but it was the same tint of green as the flashes in the first image. Those lights moved at a much slower rate and in an opposite direction.

"Is that really . . ." Bruce trailed off, leaning close again. So close Clint had to grab onto his t-shirt so he didn't fall on his face.

"Yes." Tony nodded with a happy smile.

"Then that means."

"Yep!"

"Wow." Bruce airy reply showed the awe that he felt.

"Stark. Explain yourself." Fury was not a man of many words, that was for sure.

"The first image, as I explained, is of Loki when he first entered the scene in Germany. Note the blue color but the little flecks of green that shoot through it? The second image is the energy reading of the Tesseract. IT has the same coloration and the same flow. It goes counter-clockwise through the subject. It also moves in a quick fashion and jerk way. Not seeing this it shows that a lot of the Tesseract energy was flowing through Loki when he was here. Note the head." A laser pointer appeared in Tony's hand out of nowhere.

"The energy is incredibly condensed near the bead where the brain is. Now when you do an energy reading from Bird brain while he was under the power of the Tesseract you would see a very similar pattern. But there are also flecks of green in there. That is Loki's own natural power. The blue is the Tesseract. What this shows is that the glowing Lego of destiny was controlling Loki throughout his mission on Earth. Natasha what did you call it when you fixed cupid here?"

"Mental recalibration." The Russian lady replied promptly. She had a scowl on her face and her arms crossed dangerously.

"Right. That great whack on the head shook up the power of the glow cube, which caused the power to dissipate when it had nothing to hold on to. Now for a god you would need something much bigger . . . for example, a Hulk." Tony said with a shrug.

"That's where the third picture comes in. That is Loki post-calibration. Free of the Tesseract's energy and control of his mind. That's why all the power is green and flows differently. There is no great accumulation in the head, meaning that there is nothing controlling the brain. If he wasn't being controlled the power would have stayed." Tony said with an air of finality.

"So you want us to believe that the megalomaniac who tried to take over our world might have been controlled the same way Barton was?" Fury asked as if he was talking to a three year old.

"Do you want more proof? I have plenty." Tony said with a shrug.

"I don't believe any of this." Fury said, with the Captain and Barton nodding to back him up. Natasha looked unsure but not fully on Tony's side.

"Listen, I'm not saying you have to completely believe me now. But before we go gung-ho and try and kill the bastard, why don't we give him the benefit of the doubt? We don't try and kill him. We take him in and interrogate him. Last time we just put a muzzle on him and shipped him off." Ton said with a shrug.

"Why would I do that when I have permission from Asgard as well as our government to execute him on sight?" Tony looked at Thor with a questioning glance. The man looked sad and quite guilty, but he nodded his head. Tony glanced nervously at Luke. His assistant was stoic at his place on the wall, but Tony knew better than that.

"I'm just saying that there is a possibility that he didn't do this on his own free will. And if the myths have any ring of truth to them, I would not blame him even if there was no one controlling him." Tony shrugged.

"Explain." Ah, Fury. One does wonder where he learned his linguistic skills.

"Thor. Are the myths true?" Tony turned to the God of Thunder. The man in question rubbed the back of his head as he thought.

"Many of them are. There are a few that have been manipulated so much that they have become false. However the bases of many of those stories remain intact." The thunderer grumbled.

"How about the one where Loki was forced to have his lips sewn shut?"

"Aye, that's true."

"Or when he was forced to have venom drip on his face for hundreds of years?"

"That one also occurred."

"How about when he was bound to a cliff to for years out in the elements with no reprieve? Or when he was forced to watch his own children kill each other and then go mad from the grief? What about him learning that he was adopted and killed his real father? What about his wife dying?" Tony rolled on, no longer looking for confirmation from Thor. HE was slightly red in the face when he finished. Steve looked decidedly sick.

"Is that true Thor?" The Captain asked, silently begging for it not to be.

"Yes. Man of Iron had told no lie. All of those punishments have fallen upon Loki at some time or another." Thor said, his big doe eyes tearing up slightly. A glance at Luke showed him holding onto himself for dear life. HE worried his lip between his teeth as if desperate to stop himself from saying anything or crying.

"Even by your ridiculous standards, Fury, that is going beyond normal torture or punishment." Tony said, as if he had banged his gavel and declared the matter over. He quietly reminded himself that he should get a gavel. Or make one. One that can expand and shrink so that it can fit in his pocket and he can carry it around everywhere.

"He killed hundreds or people Stark. That cannot be forgiven." The man said solemnly.

"So has Natasha! I'm sure she has killed even more people than him! Even if Natasha hadn't been convinced over to your side it wouldn't matter. If she had been tortured in half the ways Loki had then any court or sane person would not blame her for her actions." Tony stared at the one eyed man. It was a challenge, either of them willing to back down. In the end Tony had a stronger will and the knowledge that he was right. He won.

"Very well Stark. IF he allows us to capture him alive then we will interrogate him and figure out whether there is merit to your word. However. In this situation he is still guilty until proven innocent. Now get out of here. All of you." Fury dismissed them and they all trailed through the halls.

"Anyone want a lift back to my place? I got a limo." Tony offered. They all accepted and pile into the elongated car. It was quite for most of the ride, jus the soft murmur of Steve and Natasha making small talk.

"Tony can I ask you something?" Bruce looked over to the man who had hi arm draped around his assistants shoulder. He had been whispering in his ear, but no one knew what he had said to cause the other man to blush.

"Ask away Mr. Green."

"When did you find all of this out? How did you discover these anomalies?" Bruce asked.

"When The Woman left I did go crazy for a little while. My little drunken inventor came out and I decided to look at all the energy readings that I had. Amazingly electromagnetic readings showed really well." He answered promptly.

"So it was by dumb luck?" Natasha asked.

"You go t it Miss Scarlet."

"Why did it change your opinion so drastically. Even if you saw that it doesn't seem likely that you would have such a change of heart." Clint piped up.

"Well Miss Peacock. I also had JARVIS scan through all of the footage and look for anything out of the ordinary. Loki saving a bunch of people seemed very out of the ordinary." He said with a shrug of a shoulder.

"And the mythology?" Captain piped up.

"College sophomore year, colonel Mustard! Also a lot of Wikipedia, but those often go hand in hand." Silence rained over the car as they made theirs way to Tony's mansion. Luke leaned over and put his head on the billionaires shoulder. He looked up slightly to whisper in his hear.

"Would that make you Professor Plum?" He chuckled.

"Yes. And Fury is Miss White. He has the temper for it!" The both giggled and snuggled closely together, ignoring the others in the car.

!

Wow. That was really long…. I hope you got the Clue references. I was using a little more of the movie and not the game. Thanks to all who are reading and reviewing. It's just great. Just so you know, I have a light outline up to 20 chapters. So there are going to be at least none more. After that I have no clue how to end this story. Hopefully I will figure it out before I get there!

Ciao!


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